Under the Same Blue Sky
by shadowed one
Summary: Natsumi hasn't moved on from the tragic accident that took away her first love, but the arrival of a foreigner whose life is filled with guilt may ultimately change Natsumi's life and allow her to learn how to love again. Shoujo-ai. Natsumi X OC.
1. Bad News and an Intriguing Stranger

_**I was supposed to put up a Mai Hime story, but I decided that I'd like to do a story for one of the old-school anime series that I used to watch back when I was still a kid. I just got hold of all three seasons of You're Under Arrest and I was suddenly inspired to make a story for it. **_

_**Anyway, this story takes place after the third season (I haven't watched the last few episodes yet). All the characters' physical appearances are based on how they were portrayed in the third season (e.g. the eye color, hair color, etc.). If you've read my other stories, then you probably already expected that this is a shoujo-ai fic. Unfortunately, I'm not using the canon pairing of Natsumi and Miyuki. I prefer to work with Miyuki staying with Nakajima and revolving the story around Natsumi and an original character I created. I do love the pairing of Natsumi and Toukairin though! I just find them adorable, but then again he doesn't make much of an appearance so I decided against their pairing. **_

_**Hopefully, the story turns out well as I continue to come up with chapter after chapter. In the mean time, please enjoy reading this story!**_

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_Chapter 1: "Bad News and an Intriguing Stranger"_

_Has it been that long? It's only been a few months since that tragic accident, but it already seems like a lifetime has passed. Natsumi… why are you trying so hard to forget about what happened? Why can't you just open up to us… to me… and let everything out? _Miyuki Kobayakawa released a long and frustrated sigh, her fingers halting its work on her computer's keyboard.

"What's wrong Miyuki?" The brown-haired girl sitting adjacent to her asked. "Why the sighing all of a sudden?" It was her usual cocky smile that was on her face, but to Miyuki and the rest of their close friends, they knew that it wasn't the same. "Ara! Don't tell me Nakajima hasn't asked you out on a date yet for this month!"

"T-Tsujimoto!" The bespectacled White Hawk of Bokuto Station bolted up to his feet and slammed his hands against his desk. Ken Nakajima was still as shy as ever despite the fact that everyone including Miyuki and himself has accepted the fact that they were both in a relationship. Thanks to Yoriko's stable supply of rumor and gossip, the Bokuto Station is abuzz with the latest news that Nakajima was getting ready to once again propose to the gifted mechanic and ace driver.

"Natsumi!" Miyuki scolded, feeling her face heat up in embarrassment. "Why must you always attach Nakajima to my sighing?" she demanded.

"Ah but Miyuki-san, you must admit that whenever you do sigh like that it's because it has something to do with Nakajima-kun," the buxom Aoi Futaba reminded the group who all worked in the traffic department of the police station. Despite being a transvestite, most of the people working in the department have come to accept that Aoi was truly a woman in her heart. "Isn't that right, Nakajima-kun?" She bobbed her head at the bike trooper, long dark hair bouncing from the movement.

"N-N-No!" Nakajima stammered, face already a smart shade of beet-red.

"Ehhh!" Yoriko grinned evilly at the tall man. "If that's not true, then why are you turning red?" she asked, playfully elbowing him at his ribs. Yoriko Nikaido was still the infamous chatterbox of the station. Despite her chronic habit of spreading rumors and gossip like wildfire, she was still one of the sweetest persons in their group of friends. "Well? When are you going to ask her?"

"H-Huh? W-What do you mean?" Nakajima stuttered, snapping his head from one person's face to another. He could not help but gulp as the rest of the traffic department's personnel joined in the fun. "I-I'll ask Kobayakawa… another time…" he muttered, bowing his head in humiliation.

"What?!" Noriko shouted. "Miyuki-chan will be an old maid if you keep procrastinating!" She slapped Nakajima hard on his arm. "Come on Nakajima-kun! All you have to do is ask her!" She smiled as the other police officers began to hoot and whistle.

"Alright already!" Nakajima shouted back, swallowing down his nervousness. Hesitantly and rather awkwardly, the biker approached the blushing blue-haired Miyuki. "K-Kobayakawa!" It came out in a near shout.

Miyuki looked up at the tall man and could not keep eye contact with him. "Y-Yes?"

"W-Will you… will you?" Nakajima stuttered out, clenching his fists hard at his sides.

"Hoy… Yoriko…" Aoi scolded her partner. "You did it this time. You're disrupting our work."

Yoriko flashed the taller Aoi a grin. "It'll be worth it!" She focused her attention once more at the couple before them. "Lucky! Who'd think that I'd be able to force Nakajima into proposi-"

"... go out on a date with me tonight?" Nakajima finally blurted out, making Yoriko fall to the floor in disappointment while a few others let out groans. "Huh?" He glanced at the disappointed faces around him. "Did you expect me to say something else?" It was just as everyone thought… Ken Nakajima may have been fast on a motorcycle, but he was still awfully slow in the relationship department.

Miyuki cleared her throat. "I'll call you, Nakajima," she told him with a warm smile. "In the mean time, we have to get going." She glanced at her watch and motioned for Natsumi to get out of her chair. "Come on Natsumi! Time for patrol!"

Eagerly, the green-eyed woman pushed away from her desk and got to her feet eagerly. "Ok!" she replied to her partner's call and followed her out of the department.

As the door to the traffic department closed, a collective sigh was released from the staff. "Ne… Aoi-chan…" Yoriko pulled on her partner's sleeve. "When do you think will Natsumi snap out of it?" she asked worriedly.

Aoi shook her head. "I don't know, Yoriko-chan," she replied. "These things take a lot of time to heal from."

"But…" Yoriko tried to reason out.

"If this has nothing to do with work then I suggest that you get back to finishing your reports," the middle-aged Kachou of the Bokuto Station informed everyone in a stern voice.

"Yes sir!" the staff chorused, busying themselves once more in their work.

Satisfied that there were no more distractions, the chief of Bokuto Station got up from his chair and turned to look out of the window. "Tsujimoto," he murmured, stroking his mustache. "This kind of behavior isn't healthy for you." He watched as the familiar mini patrol car drove out of the station.

* * *

"Ahhhh! Miyuki! Isn't it a nice day today?" Natsumi asked, checking the fit of her seatbelt as Miyuki drove _Today_ down one of the busiest streets in their precinct. "Ne Miyuki! Let's drive by the school and say hi to the kids!"

"Hmmm?" Miyuki gripped the steering wheel and glanced at her partner.

"Miyuki…" Natsumi glowered at her best friend. "Were you even listening to me?"

"Ah Gomen! I sort of spaced out there for a second," Miyuki apologized, feeling a little bit sheepish that she allowed herself to get distracted while behind the wheel. "What did you say again?" she asked, watching Natsumi let out a sharp breath.

"I said that we should drive by the school and visit the kids," Natsumi patiently repeated herself. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked out of the window. "Awww… you're still off balance from what happened a while ago with Nakajima-kun," she accused her dearest friend, the slightest hint of a smirk forming on her lips.

Miyuki flushed as she steered the patrol car onto a side street. "Natsumi! Stop teasing already!" she told her dark-haired partner as angrily as she could. Try as she might, she just couldn't bring herself to get angry at her partner… especially after what happened. "Natsumi…" she said her friend's name in a softer voice.

The famous strongwoman of Bokuto Police Station turned her head to regard her suddenly sober looking friend. "What is it Miyuki?" she asked, looking a bit worried for her. "Are you angry about what I did a while ago?"

The blue-haired mechanic shook her head. "It's not that at all, Natsumi," she assured the older woman. It was hard to tell, but Miyuki was a year younger that her green-eyed counterpart. "It's just that…" she frowned hard and slowed the car to a stop at a pedestrian crossing. "Natsumi… how are you?"

"Eh?" Natsumi blinked those green orbs back at Miyuki. "How am I?" she asked herself aloud before dropping her fist into her open palm. "I'm doing great! I'm in top physical condition, I managed to get the three lunch meals I lined up for in the cafeteria, I'm close to saving enough money to buy that Ducati bike that Daimaru-san recommended to me-"

"Stop acting like you don't know what I'm asking!" Miyuki raised her voice at her suddenly surprised partner. Feeling a bit ashamed, Miyuki turned away and said, "Gomen… I didn't mean to yell at you." She glanced back at the brown-haired woman and saw that seriousness replaced the surprise that was on Natsumi's face. "Natsumi… you know that I worry about you."

"I know that Miyuki…"

"Then why are you behaving this way?" Miyuki demanded, amaranth-colored eyes boring into Natsumi's forest green orbs. She looked down at the clenched fists on Natsumi's lap and caught the bright glint of silver. "You're still wearing it…" she murmured, reaching out and grasping one of Natsumi's slender shoulders.

Natsumi unclenched her fists and raised her right hand to her face. "It's just… so hard to let go, you know," she admitted to her friend. "It seems like it was just yesterday when he slipped this ring onto my finger." She tried to smile, but it ended up as a tight-lipped one. "We were planning to," she paused, swallowing a lump that suddenly formed in her throat. "-planning to… tie the knot at the end of this month."

"Natsumi…"

"Miyuki…" Natsumi looked seriously at her friend then pointed at the stop light. "It's been green for quite some time now."

Miyuki slapped her forehead and drove the patrol car to an unused side street. "You're still upset about what happened," she continued after parking the car and turning off the engines. She took in a deep breath. "It was bound to happen, Natsumi," she told the other woman in a gentle voice. "You knew that the job he took was one that exposed him to danger frequently."

Natsumi bowed her head as her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably. "I know… Miyuki," she whispered. "It's just that…" she grit her teeth. "It's just so unfair," she choked out, hot tears finally eking out of her eyes and trailing down her cheeks.

Without hesitating, Miyuki unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over to gather her friend in her arms. This was so far the second time Natsumi cried ever since they got the news the Shouji Toukairin had died during a rescue mission in Mount Tate in Toyama. Her partner had shed the most tears when the dreadful news arrived at Bokuto Station with the chief delivering it. "Shhh… it's alright Natsumi," Miyuki crooned. "I'm here…"

* * *

_Six months ago…_

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"So why did you call me up here all of a sudden?" Natsumi questioned the black-haired climber. The sun was slowly dipping down behind the Tokyo skyline as Natsumi clambered up the ladder and settled herself beside her smiling boyfriend. "I was just about to head to the locker room to change out of my uniform," she complained.

"Don't worry!" Shouji Toukairin assured his lover. "This will be quick! You'll be able to change out of uniform before it's Aoi-san's time to use the locker room!" He grinned at how Natsumi laughed heartily before running a hand through his hair. "I've got three sets of news for you actually," he told her.

"Good or bad?" Natsumi asked.

"A combination of both actually," Shouji replied, putting his arm around Natsumi's shoulders and pulling her close. "What do you want to hear first?"

The green-eyed woman scrunched her face up. "Let's hear the bad news first then," she decided, snuggling closer to Shouji.

"I'm received my orders again and I'm bound to go back to Toyoma tomorrow," he announced, giving Natsumi an apologetic smile. "I know I've only been here for a week, but I'm needed back at Toyoma to lead the mountain police," Shouji explained. "The peak season for tourists and climbers is coming up fast and there's a need for the mountain rescue team."

"That sucks," Natsumi let out bluntly, scowling hard at her boyfriend when he merely laughed at her as a reaction. "So what's the good news then?" she asked when Shouji finally got himself under control.

The dark-haired man grinned down at his counterpart in strength and appetite. "I'm getting promoted," he told her, reaching up with his hand and pinching Natsumi's nose playfully.

"Seriously?" Natsumi asked in excitement, almost bouncing in her seat on the roof. "Let me guess! You're being promoted to chief of the Toyoma Police!" Her eyes glinted happily at the thought of having the chief of the Toyoma mountain police as her boyfriend.

Shouji could only laugh in amusement. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Natsumi." He playfully ruffled her hair with one hand before restraining her from attacking with a tight hug. "I've been promoted from lieutenant to captain of the mountain rescue team," he explained. "So technically, I'm the leader of the mountain rescue team," he continued. "The chief is still my superior though."

Natsumi looked a bit disappointed and pushed her daydreams out of her head. "Well, it's not what I expected, but it's still great news that you've been promoted!" She reached into the simple tent and pulled out a two cans of beer that she had bought for Shouji when they both went grocery shopping a few days ago. "We should celebrate your promotion!" She tossed one can to him.

"I have nothing against your suggestion, but wouldn't you want to save the celebration until you hear the last set of news I have for you?" Shouji asked.

"Ehhh? There's one more?" Natsumi demanded, pulling her fingers away from the can's tab. "Well, let's hear it quickly! I happen to like this brand of beer!" She stared at the unmoving climber for a full minute then began to scowl at him. "What is it? Are you going to tell me or what?!" she demanded impatiently.

Toukairin shook his head vigorously and stuck his hand into his pocket. "Sorry about that," he apologized, turning a little bit red. "I was just a bit distracted when I thought about how daunting this task is to me," he admitted, taking his hand out of his pocket and taking Natsumi's hand into his own. Looking a little bit nervous, he said, "I've thought about this for quite some time now and I already consulted with them about this." He paused and cleared his throat. "Natsumi," he said in a serious voice. "Will you… marry me?" He held the bright silver ring up, pinned between his thumb and index finger.

"M-Marry?" Natsumi stammered, staring first at Shouji's face then staring at the simple ring he held.

The climber frowned, obviously misinterpreting Natsumi's reaction. "Is it too sudden?" he asked, hiding the ring behind his hand. "It's been a year already and I thought that-" He could not finish the sentence because Natsumi had knocked him onto his back with an enthusiastic hug. "So that means yes?" he asked, holding the ring up once more and slipping it onto Natsumi's ring finger.

"Of course you idiot!" Natsumi replied, wrapping her arms around Toukairin's neck and kissing him passionately. "By the way, what did you mean when you said that you already consulted with them?" she asked after pulling away and helping her boyfriend sit up.

"My parents of course and our friends," Shouji replied with a content smile. "Miyuki said that now would be the best time to propose especially with my promotion." He reached out and pulled Natsumi onto his lap.

The policewoman smiled and leaned back into Shouji's strong chest. "Miyuki said that?" she asked as she looked up at the darkening skies. "But what about us? What about the wedding and-"

Toukairin reached around and covered Natsumi's mouth. "You needn't worry about it as of the moment," he told her. "I'm not exactly in a hurry to tie the knot. I have some things to take care of first before we actually get married," he explained. "I want to make sure that I'll be able to support you when that time comes." He took his hand away and propped his chin on Natsumi's shoulder. "I've been saving up and with a few months working as captain of the Toyoma mountain rescue team, I'll have enough to buy a house for us."

"Shouji! You don't have to do that!" Natsumi said. "We could both pay for the house eventually!" she told him.

The climber shook his head vehemently. "It's alright Natsumi," he assured her. "I've had my eye on this house for quite some time now. You could buy the furniture and appliances when that day comes." He nuzzled Natsumi's neck for a few seconds before tipping her head up and giving her a kiss. "Until then, I need you to be patient and just wait for me."

Natsumi smiled softly. "I can wait until forever," she told him.

"That's my girl!" Toukairin chuckled.

* * *

_Three months ago…_

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"Tsujimoto, Kobayakawa," Kachou called from his desk.

"Yes!" Both police officers got to their feet and saluted their chief from their desks.

The chief looked at the two officers briefly before making up his mind. "Come to the meeting room," he ordered, ignoring the strange looks his staff gave him. He stood up and headed into the small meeting room with the police duo following closely behind him. Sitting in the only armchair in the room, he gestured at the couch before him. "Please take your seat."

"Kachou…" Natsumi fidgeted as she settled onto the couch. "Are you going to punish me for the being late this whole week?" she asked nervously. "You didn't have to ask Miyuki to come along if you were going to do that," she explained. "I could take care of myself!"

The chief shook his head. "No, I didn't call you here to punish you for that. Besides, the only punishment you'd get from me for being late would be the usual reprimanding and writing an apology letter," he replied, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"Kachou, there's something wrong… am I right?" Miyuki asked, easily reading the chief's face.

"Ehh?" Natsumi let out. "Nonsense Miyuki! The chief couldn't have called us here for anything else!" She glanced and saw the grave look on the chief's face. "I guess this isn't about giving us an assignment."

"Tsujimoto," the chief let out a sigh. "Have you or Kobayakawa seen the news recently?" he asked.

"Like how recent?" Miyuki asked, wondering what was wrong.

"This morning's news," Kachou replied, crossing his arms over his chest and nervously bouncing his knee up and down. "Particularly about that storm that touched down in the Toyoma prefecture," he clarified.

"Oh you mean the snowstorm," Miyuki said, amaranth-eyes narrowing at the realization.

The chief nodded and focused his attention on Natsumi. "A group of adventurers were stranded on Mount Tate during the storm, but normal air rescue wasn't possible due to its severity." He took in a deep breath before continuing. "The chief of the Toyoma mountain police sent Captain Toukairin and his team to rescue the adventurers and risk the bad weather."

"Kachou," Miyuki tried, feeling her gut clench at the bad feeling she was getting from this conversation.

"Were they able to rescue them?" Natsumi asked, still blissfully unaware of what the chief was trying to get to.

"Thankfully, they all made it safely thanks to Captain Toukairin."

Natsumi smiled and stretched her arms towards the ceiling. "I knew that all would go well if he handled such a dangerous rescue mission!" She got to her feet and made her way towards the door. "Well Kachou! Thanks for telling me the news! I'll try calling Shouji up now and ask how he's doing." She managed to get a hand on the doorknob when the chief spoke again.

"Tsujimoto…" he started, looking all the more grave. "There was an accident," he finally let out, watching his police officer react.

Natsumi froze and slowly turned around to stare at the chief with dread. "There's no way that could have happened," she said in disbelief. "Shouji… Shouji's an expert and would have been able to avoid any accidents!" She didn't notice but her voice was steadily rising with each word and becoming shakier.

The chief continued to regard her with those sloe-black eyes of his. "Accidents are bound to happen, Tsujimoto," he gently reminded her. "Witnesses, the adventurers and the team members of the captain, said that Toukairin was leading one of the victims who strayed from the path away from a snowy bank near the cliff, when the ground suddenly gave way."

"No…" Natsumi whispered, taking a step back. "It can't be…"

"Captain Toukairin was able to snag the person's coat and managed to grab hold of a handhold on the cliff face," the chief continued despite the looks Miyuki was giving him. "He managed to pass the victim to one of his team members and was climbing up himself when the rock crumbled away." The chief paused and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry Tsujimoto…"

Natsumi stood there like a statue with the meeting room in complete silence. A few minutes had passed when Miyuki got to her feet and worriedly walked towards her best friend. She didn't even manage three steps when Natsumi suddenly bolted out of the meeting room and back into the traffic department. "Natsumi!" Miyuki cried out, running after her.

"You can't be-" Natsumi choked as she ran to her desk and grabbed her cellphone, trying her best to ignore the worried looks her coworkers were giving her. "It just can't be true!" She furiously dialed Toukairin's number. He always brought his cellphone along with him even on his missions. "Come on Shouji! Please answer!" She held the phone against her ear and waited.

"_The number is currently unavailable. Please try your call again later."_

"Damn!" Natsumi cursed and tried again, still getting the same result.

"Natsumi please," Miyuki begged her delirious friend.

"No!" Natsumi yelled, shocking all the staff present in the department. "I won't accept it!" She dialed Shouji's number once more, held the phone against her ear and grit her teeth. Suddenly, she heard the familiar ringing tone in the background. "Come on Shouji! Please pick up!" She waited as it continued to ring for a few more seconds.

Then suddenly, the ringing stopped and then came the sound of Toukairin's cheerful voice.

"_Moshi moshi-"_

"Shouji-kun!" Natsumi cried into her cell phone's mouthpiece, feeling relieved. "I thought that you were dea-"

"_I'm currently not available at the moment due to work or other matters."_

Her heart suddenly wrenched painfully as she realized that it was the answering machine. "No way…" she whispered, the tears coming down harder now. "This can't be happening!" she gripped her cell phone so hard that her hand shook.

"_Natsumi! If that's you calling, I'll be sure to call you as soon as I'm free! Well then, you know the drill!"_ With that, the voice recording stopped followed by a beep then silence.

"Natsumi…" Miyuki called out to her friend in a gentle voice. "That's enough now." She reached over and took the cellphone out of her best friend's hand. "That's enough…" the blue-haired mechanic switched off the cellphone and placed it back on Natsumi's desk.

"I-I…" Natsumi stuttered, clamping her eyes shut and banging her gloves hands against her table with tremendous force. "You said you'd come back!" Her knees finally gave way below her and she slumped to the floor. She let out a sob and buried her face into her hands. "D-Don't leave me! Please!"

Miyuki was teary-eyed during the whole confrontation, but it was only now that she shed tears having to see her best friend in such a sorry state. "I won't leave you Natsumi," Miyuki whispered to her friend as she dropped to her knees and fiercely hugged her. "I won't ever leave you…" she repeated as Natsumi desperately clung onto her.

* * *

_At the present…_

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"Sorry…" Natsumi sniffed and pulled away from her friend. "It was… just remembering," she explained, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I guess I needed that." She smiled at her best friend and took the offered tissue from her.

Miyuki gently smiled back at her partner and waited as she blew her nose. "You shouldn't have kept it inside for so long," she scolded her. "I know I'd probably be depressed if I was in your place, but still you have to move on." She gestured at the ring on Natsumi's finger. "You're still young and with that said, you could learn to love again."

The brown-haired woman shook her head and put a hand over the ring. "I'm not ready to let go yet," she decided, her face a mixture of pain and sadness. "I'm not ready to look for another person to fill in the hole he left."

Miyuki nodded her head in agreement and caressed Natsumi's face with a gentle hand. "Nobody's asking you to decide right now," she told her. "What I want from you is to get out of your depression and try going back to becoming the usual Natsumi we knew." She gave her a warm smile. "Alright?"

Natsumi blinked back the unshed tears and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'll try my best Miyuki," she answered.

"That's my partner!" Miyuki let out, giving her one more hug just as her radio signaled an incoming call from headquarters.

"_Mini-patrol car number 3, mini patrol car number 3," _Yoriko's voice called. _"The chief has new orders for the both of you."_

Grabbing the receiver, Miyuki spoke into it and said, "Mini patrol car number 3 reporting. What are the chief's orders?"

"_The Bokuto mall is holding an outdoor event today and is requesting for some assistance with crowd control."_

Miyuki glanced at Natsumi who nodded her head and disposed of her used tissue. "Roger that then. We will be heading over to the Bokuto Mall to assist in the outdoor event. Thanks Yoriko!"

"_You're welcome!"_

"To the mall then?" Natsumi asked, checking her face using _Today's _rearview mirror.

"Buckle up," Miyuki ordered as she started the car's engines. "We're doing crowd control for today!" She drove the patrol car out of the side street and made her way towards the main road.

"Oh. Miyuki?"

"Yes Natsumi?" Miyuki asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Thanks for being there for me ever since."

There was a pause. "You know that I would never leave you alone."

* * *

The taxi driver looked nervously at his passenger through his rearview mirror. He knew that it was unbecoming for him to be judgmental of his passengers, but this particular one was making him anxious. Fortunately enough, his passenger seemed to be asleep, probably because of the long and tiresome flight she was recently in. He had gleaned some information from her when he tried to strike up some polite conversation after guessing that she was a foreigner. Apparently, the young woman who looked to be in mid-twenties or late-twenties, had come from California and was in the country to do some vacationing. That was the only information he got aside from the destination she wanted to go to. She had already fallen asleep when the taxi driver tried to continue their conversation.

The taxi driver this time twisted his head around to regard the sleeping figure in his vehicle. She didn't look menacing, but she certainly stood out especially if she was put to the streets with the Japanese people. The woman was certainly not appropriately dressed for Japan's autumn weather. She wore thin and loose khaki cargo shorts, a pristine white long-sleeved polo shirt with its sleeves careless rolled up to her elbows and a pair of worn out sneakers. As for physical appearance, the driver estimated that the woman was around five feet and eight inches and around a hundred and thirty pounds. She was in top physical condition especially since he could see the visible line of muscles on her arms and legs, which made him wonder what exactly did she do to have such a toned body.

"Hoy…" The woman cracked an eye open and regarded the driver with a sleepy amber orb. "It's getting uncomfortable to have you staring at me like that," she told him in a weary voice. She spoke fluently in Japanese, but anyone could spot that she spoke the language with an accent. "Is something wrong?" She straightened in her seat and ran her hand through her layered black hair. Despite it being slightly mussed from her long flight, the woman's raven-black hair, which fell just until the nape of her neck with one long fringe often falling over one eye gave her a mysterious look.

"Ah gomen!" the driver apologized, thinking that this was one of those emo kids that he heard about on television. The hairstyle complimented the so-called emo style and there was also the variety of piercings on the woman's right ear. There were a total of three simple silver studs lined up along the earlobe and a silver ear cuff with what looked to be a black serpent of some sort attached to the helix of her ear. "Pardon me for asking, but are you one of those emo kids from America?"

"Huh?" The woman blinked at the driver and began to laugh. "Well, I must admit that I understand your reason for saying that," she told him with a chuckle. "I may look like one, but I certainly don't act like one. Well, not all the time I suppose, but my personality often gets mistaken as that of being emo."

"Perhaps you're just a very serious character and that's why people think you're of that sort," the driver guessed, feeling more relaxed as he halted the car at the entrance of the Bokuto Mall. "Here we are at Bokuto Mall," he announced, thanking the woman when she handed him the payment and got out of the car. "Perhaps you should purchase a jacket," he suggested as a cold blast of wind entered the cab.

"Not to worry," the woman said, taking a dark blue sports jacket from her large duffel bag and slipping it on. "I'll manage with this." She smiled at the driver once more and bowed in thanks.

"Enjoy your stay in Japan!" With that, the taxi drove off in search of another passenger.

As the woman zipped her duffel bag close, there was a sudden feeling of peace that fell upon her. Looking up at the overcast skies, she let out a sigh. "At least I can find peace here for the moment," she murmured to herself. "Good. No one recognizes who I am here." She slung her duffel bag onto one shoulder and made her way towards the crowded outdoor event of the mall. "Now where's that café? She said that it was just outside of the Bokuto Mall." She looked around and scowled. "I won't be able to find it in this crowd. I might as well go around and pass time." Having said that, the raven-haired woman disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

"Man, this is a really big crowd!" Natsumi remarked as she and Miyuki stepped out of their parked patrol car. "Did you find out from Yoriko why this outdoor event is being held?" Taking her dark blue blazer from the backseat and quickly put it on.

Miyuki nodded her head. "It's just one of the annual events the mall holds," she told her partner as they walked into the crowd. "I did find out that one of the main attractions in this event is a eighteen-storey or nearly two hundred foot man-made climbing wall." She bit her lip hard when she saw Natsumi's face sadden at what she just said. Putting a hand around the slightly taller girl's shoulders, Miyuki said, "Come on. Let's get to work."

"Yeah…" Natsumi answered, shrugging off her friend's arm and taking the lead. It was only natural for her to react this way, after all Shouji was an expert and avid rock climber. "Hey Miyuki," she called. "Do you want to do some shopping too while we're here? There are quite a lot of bargains."

"Out of my way! I need to get to the all day discounted sale!" A stout woman in a gaudy pink jacket pushed past Natsumi and Miyuki and shoved other customers and sightseers out of the way.

Both Miyuki and Natsumi stared at the retreating figure and shrugged their shoulders. "What did we expect? The scooter mama is always at hand when there's a sale," Miyuki said, checking the fit of her white gloves on her hands. "I guess we can afford to do some shopping," she admitted sheepishly. "As long as the chief doesn't find out that we shopped during work."

Natsumi grinned and led the way to a group of stalls that sold clothes. "Ok! I see some clothes that look really nice!"

While Miyuki and Natsumi looked through the clothing stalls, a fit man in comfortable shorts and a sleeveless shirt approached the 200-foot man-made wall. "Hoy Hisashi!" he called out to his assistant who was currently doing his role as a belayer. "I told you not to open the wall to customers until I got back from the store!"

The young man grinned at his boss and continued to pull the rope out of the self-locking mechanism called the Gri-gri as the customer, a junior high school girl by the looks of it made her way up the wall. "Sorry boss, but the girl and her friends were really eager to give the wall a go!" he explained, waving his hand at the honey brown-haired girl. "You're doing great Miki-san!" he called up to her.

The boss scowled deeply. "You mean you opened our attraction because it was an opportunity to hit on a bunch of under-aged girls," he accused his employee, nevertheless walking over and checking the equipment over. "I swear you're lucky that you have me as a boss. I'm way more easygoing compared to othe-" he paused with a deep frown as he grabbed part of the rope his employee had used for the girl's particular climb. "Where did you get this?" he demanded, hurriedly checking the Gri-gri and carabiners as well.

"Huh?" The employee looked at his boss in confusion. "I got it from the trunk of your car, boss," he replied. "Although I was surprised that it wasn't even coiled properly! It took me quite some time to unravel it," he continued.

"Idiot!" The boss bellowed and slapped the man hard at the back of his head. "Who told you to use that rope?" he demanded, looking up at the girl who was a little bit halfway up the wall and approaching the overhang. "The equipment at the back of my car is the ones I was going to dispose of! The equipment you were supposed to use are all in those boxes!" He gestured at the group of boxes at the back of the wall. "And why the hell did you let the girl take the expert course of the wall?"

"Expert course?"

The boss cursed and yelled up at the girl. "Hoy! Don't attempt the overhang!" He signaled for his employee to get ready for the descent. "It's too hard for you!"

"What? But I already paid for this!" the girl yelled back, digging her fingers into a hold known as a jug since it provided a hole for the climber to slip his fingers into.

The man frowned at the fact that he'd be letting the girl climb two walls with just the standard payment, but then again either it was money or her safety. "We'll let you climb the less difficult wall free of charge!" he yelled back. "Now slowly make your way down the wall!' he ordered.

The amateur employee grumbled under his breath as he belayed the girl inch by inch. "I still don't see the problem, boss," he said.

"Fool! Did you even bother to check the rope while you were setting up?" the older man asked, keeping a careful eye on the customer. "It's already starting to fray and the core's starting to deteriorate," he said in a soft voice, hoping that the girl's friends wouldn't hear. "One good fall could snap the rope and from that height, it's either she'll break quite a number of bones or worse she'll die."

His employee began to sweat.

"Now don't panic. As long as she makes her way down the wall just like that," the boss started, pointing at how the girl descended hold by hold. "Then we can pretend that this never happened. We'll just change the rope before we let the next customer climb the wall."

"Hoy! Oji-san!" the girl called, nearly eighty feet above the ground. "Shouldn't I be coming down by kicking away from the wall?" Without waiting for a reply, the girl set her feet against the wall and kicked at it, her body swinging away a good six feet away from it. She was swinging back to the wall when the rope suddenly gave way. Screaming in terror, the student slammed into the wall, fell a few feet down before managing to grab onto the various holds on the wall. "H-Help!" she shouted.

"Damn it!" the boss curses as the broken rope fell to the ground. "Hurry and unload one of the new ropes! We have to get it onto the pulley system quick so that I could climb up and save her!" He watched as his employee detached himself from the belaying system and dashed to the back of the wall. "Just hang on!" he yelled, frowning at how the girl's group of friends began to scream in terror while other people began to gather. "I knew I should have gotten more employees to work today!"

"Oji-san! I'm calling the police and the fire department!" One of the girl's friends waved her cell phone at him. "Maybe they could get a ladder here in time!"

The owner of the wall could not reply as he kept his eye on the girl who was visibly trembling against the wall eighty feet up. "Of all times for this to happen!" he muttered. "Hisashi! Where the hell are those ropes?" he shouted at his employee.

"I have to unroll it, boss!" came the reply.

"Damn it! Hurry it up! The girl won't be able to hold on for much longer!"

Further away from the wall, Natsumi and Miyuki were paying for their purchases when a crowd of people began running towards some other destination. Calling out to no one in particular, Natsumi shouted, "What's happening?"

"There was an accident at that 200-foot climbing wall. The rope broke and this junior high school girl is stuck eighty feet up!" some random person shouted back to the green-eyed woman before disappearing into the fast-moving crowd. Forest green orbs flashing in worry and determination, the policewoman turned to her partner. "Miyuki!"

The blue-haired mechanic and driver briskly nodded her head. "Excuse me, but could you hold onto our purchases for the time being? We'll come back for it after we handle the situation at the climbing wall." After getting the stall owner's agreement, both she and Natsumi dove into the crowd and ran towards the distinct wall.

"Sorry! Please excuse us! Police coming through!" Natsumi yelled, taking care not to shove people in her way too hard. After a few more minutes, both she and Miyuki found themselves at the base of the wall. "Woah! I thought it was only one wall!" Natsumi remarked, shading her eyes with a hand and looking up at it. It indeed looked like a single wall until 60 feet up. After that, the wall split into three columns with the middle one ending at sixty feet, the column at its left at 120 feet and the one on the right a full 200 feet.

"The girl is on the tallest one," Miyuki observed, worriedly looking up at the scared victim. "Just hang on! We'll get you down from there!" Walking towards the pair of men dragging a lengthy piece of rope on the ground, Miyuki demanded, "Why isn't anyone scaling the wall to get her?"

The older of the two men frowned. "The rope broke and we need to thread it through the pulley system before we could actually climb up and get her," he replied, glaring at his employee. "Depending on how fast my idiot of a subordinate can move, it might take some time for us to get everything ready."

Miyuki opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by another scream.

"I'm slipping!"

"Damn it! Just stay there!" Natsumi yelled, pulling up her fit skirt and discarding her blazer.

"What are you doing?" the boss demanded dropping the rope and grasping Natsumi forearm hard. "Even if you were ridiculously strong, you wouldn't be able to scale up the expert course without any safety equipment!"

Natsumi slapped the man's hand off her arm and glared hard at him. "What should we do then? Just stand here and wait for her to slip?" she challenged. "There's no time left!" She threw her arms up in the air in frustration just as the large crowd gasped and pointed at the wall. "Is she falling?" The strongwoman of Bokuto Station whirled around to check what the fuss was about.

"Natsumi! Look!" Miyuki pointed 20 feet up the wall.

The boss and his subordinate could only gawk as a raven-haired woman clothed in khaki cargo shorts and a dark blue jacket effortlessly but steadily made her way up the wall without any climbing equipment. The older man watched as the slender woman used a variety of climbing techniques spanning from arm and elbow bars, crimping, mantling, heel and toe hooks. "Who is that?" he wondered aloud.

"Must be an expert, boss," his subordinate replied, keeping his eye on the unknown climber. "Although there's something different with her climbing style," he added.

"How so?" Miyuki asked, curious to know that these climbers noticed a difference in the woman's climbing style.

The subordinate shrugged. "Well, there's only so much a climber can utilize especially when he or she is attached to the safety equipment," he began. "That climber on the other hand," he pointed at the woman who just breached the 60-foot mark. "She does look like an expert but she looks comfortable scaling the wall without any equipment!"

The boss clapped his hands loudly. "That's it!" he let out in excitement. "We've got a boulderer!" he announced.

Natsumi tilted her head and let out a confused grunt. "Boulder-what?" she asked.

"A boulderer," the man repeated himself. "In other words, we have an experienced climber who doesn't use ropes or other equipment to scale a wall, boulder or rock face." He nodded his head and brought out a small towel from his pocket to dab at his sweaty face. "Bouldering is a style of climbing emphasizing power, strength, and dynamics," he explained.

Natsumi nodded her head. "So it's about brute strength then?"

"Yes but not quite," the man replied. "Bouldering does emphasize more on power and strength but it takes a lot of problem solving skill too. A boulderer about to scale a man made wall or a real rock face needs to map out his route carefully and utilize the right techniques in order to complete the course." He put tossed the towel onto a nearby-unopened box. "We're quite lucky that this woman's here, although I'm quite worried."

"Why is that?" Natsumi demanded, clenching her fists as she continued to watch the woman make her way up the remaining fifteen up to the girl. She was in awe with how effortlessly and skillfully the woman made her way up the wall in just a span of five minutes. "She's almost there!" she shouted to trembling student. "Just hang on and don't look down!" Her eyes widened as the girl's body slightly relaxed so that she could peer down at her rescuer. "Don't look down!" she shouted, watching in horror as the girl lost her grip on the holds and began to fall. Sprinting to the base of the wall, Natsumi hoped that she could catch the girl and withstand the force of her fall.

A collective sound of relief and awe emanated from the audience as they pointed their fingers to the sky. Natsumi was not able to see what had happened but she could tell from the looks of the spectators faces. Looking up, she could only manage a breathy "Kami-sama." It was almost just like in the action movies, but it wasn't a stunt and there weren't any stunt doubles or safety equipment. With three points of contact on the wall, namely her feet and one hand, the unknown woman managed to grab hold of the student's wrist and kept both of them from falling to the ground. "She's strong," Natsumi said aloud, watching the woman's arms and legs flex from the effort of keeping herself on the wall and single-handedly holding the young girl up. The policewoman heard the stranger grunt loudly as she lifted the girl up bit by bit. She could barely hear what the woman said to her charge due to the crowd's noise, but she picked it up anyway.

"Wrap your arms around my neck and hold on!"

Natsumi heard the whimper of the girl and repeated the boulderer's orders in a shout. "Do as she says! You'll be alright!" she assured the girl, feeling relief wash over her as the student wrapped her arms around the woman's neck. "Can you climb down?" she asked the boulderer.

"I could climb down if it was only myself, but having the extra weight will make it more dangerous," the stranger replied, fixing her grip on the holds on the wall. "It'd be better if I climb up."

Natsumi waved her fists at the climber. "Are you crazy?!" she yelled. "You can't possibly climb to the top of this 200-foot wall!"

"Natsumi! Calm down!" Miyuki ordered her partner. "You're not helping by shouting your lungs out at them!"

The climber chuckled. "Who says I'm going to climb all the way to the top?" She looked up the wall and analyzed the arrangement of holds. Looking down and to her left, she saw that the middle wall, which she expected was the beginner course had no platform at the top. Scanning the advanced course wall, she saw that at the top of the 120-foot wall was a platform and behind it a window. If she could reach that platform, she'd have access to one of the mall windows. Making up her mind, she took a deep breath and began to climb up.

"Hoy!" Natsumi yelled.

"Don't distract me!" the stranger muttered as she paused at the 110-foot mark and looked at the other wall. She calculated that the 200-foot wall and the 120-foot wall were separated by a 2 and ½ meter gap and she could probably make the jump even with her burden. It was risky and she usually executed a Dynamic Maneuver or Dyno, which was any movement that requires the climber to jump or to swing from one hold to another, only when necessary. The risk attached to such a climbing technique was high. Technically, the Dyno was a move that if not completed successfully would result in a fall. In this case, it would mean broken bones, paralysis or even death for her and the student she carried.

"Hoy! Why are you stopping! You're going to wear yourself out!"

"Natsumi! You're just distracting her!" Miyuki grabbed her partner and pulled her away from the wall. "But I do wonder why she's looking across that gap between the advanced and expert walls," she added, eyes widening in realization of what the stranger was about to do. "She's going to jump it!" she told the male climbers at her side.

"Ohhhh… she'll be doing a Dyno," the older man said, the look in his eyes more of interest rather than worry. "It makes sense that she's choosing to do that to get to the platform of the advanced wall. With climbing to the top and climbing down no longer viable options, this is the only thing she can do to save both their lives," he explained. "Unless the fire department arrives."

Natsumi grit her teeth. "I don't like it. It's too risky."

Miyuki sighed. "But what choice do we have? Sooner or later she's won't have enough strength," she told her partner. "We'll just have to trust her Natsumi." She looked up just in time to see the raven-haired woman prepare for the complex maneuver. She watched as first the student now wrapped her legs around the climber's torso then stared worriedly as the boulderer began to swing her body from right to left.

It seemed like an eternity passed when suddenly with one mighty swing, the climber with her human burden flung herself across the gap and managed to grab hold of one particularly large hold that she wrapped her hands around. The crowd cheered as the woman climbed the final 10 feet up and pulled herself onto the small platform atop the wall. The raven-haired woman then helped the girl into the opened window of the mall, which the mall workers had opened for them.

"Natsumi! Let's go!" Miyuki called, running towards the nearest mall entrance with her partner following closely behind her. They moved past the sliding doors and ran towards the escalators. When they finally got to the window, both police officers noticed that something was different. The junior high school student was there but her rescuer wasn't. Another thing that they noticed was that the girl had the familiar blue jacket of the boulderer around her shivering frame.

"Where did she go?" Natsumi asked the mall workers and the young girl seated on the floor.

One saleswoman shook her head. "We actually didn't realize that she disappeared. One minute we were helping both of them through the window and then at the next moment she was suddenly gone." She gestured at the trembling girl before her. "We didn't even notice that the climber had given her jacket to her."

While Miyuki tended to the girl, Natsumi scanned the premises for the mysterious woman who solely accomplished the rescue. She knew that it was not likely for her to spot the woman in the mall's dense crowd, but she could not help but let her mind wander. The dark haired policewoman replayed how the boulderer had deftly scaled the wall down to that last risky maneuver she used. Natsumi had caught a glimpse of the woman's face and as that moment of contact replayed in her mind, there was a white flash and she saw gentle blue eyes, a warm smile and that familiar shock of black hair. "Shouji…" Natsumi whispered, putting a hand over her heart and letting her fingers dig into her chest. The boulderer may have rescued the girl, but provoked unwanted feelings and memories in Natsumi.

* * *

In a large café adjacent to the Bokuto Mall, a woman in her late fifties walked around her near-empty establishment, wondering why there weren't as many customers as usual. The woman had shiny black hair that fell past her shoulders, a soft face, well-shaped nose and full lips. She wore a pair of simple slacks and a blouse, which differed from the outfits worn by the rest of the café's staff. "Hey Jiro! Do you know why we aren't entertaining as much customers as usual?" the woman asked one of the waiters.

The blonde-haired man shook his head. "I'm only guessing, but I'm guessing it's because of that accident that happened at the wall-climb attraction at Bokuto Mall's outdoor event," he answered, cleaning the surface of one of the tables with a swash of cloth. "How about you Mitsuko-san? You've been waiting for that guest to arrive for a few hours now."

Mitsuko Soryu let out a long sigh and settled herself at an empty table. "It's been years since I've seen that girl," she mused. "I told her that the café's easy to spot because it's named after her, but she hasn't even arrived yet."

"Perhaps she's lost?" Jiro suggested. "You did say that she's a foreigner," he pointed out.

"She is a foreigner, but she's half-Japanese," Mitsuko replied. "My younger sister is her mother while her father is an Irishman born in the United States of America. She speaks quite fluently in Japanese thanks to my sister, so I'm quite sure that she hasn't lost her way." She was twirling her hair with her fingers when the café door opened admitting a tall raven-haired woman with a duffel bag. "Welcome!" Mitsuko greeted, getting out of her chair and walking to the door. "Table for one-" she paused abruptly and stared up into those familiar amber orbs.

"Hi Auntie Mitsuko." The raven-haired woman bent down slightly and pecked her stunned aunt on the cheek. "Sorry for being late," she apologized, smiling broadly at her mother's sister.

"Aki-chan!" Mitsuko threw her arms around her favorite niece's neck and fiercely hugged her. "How have you been? Was your flight delayed?" She pulled away from her niece and grabbed hold of her hand, towing her to a nearby table. "Jiro! Go make some tea and give me a club sandwich!" Turning to look at her weary looking niece, she asked, "Are you alright?"

"You ask to many questions," Aki accused her. "No my flight wasn't delayed and yes I'm alright," she answered the questions, wincing as she eased the strap of her duffel bag off her shoulder. "On second thought, I think I strained my shoulder from a while ago."

Mitsuko's honey-brown orbs regarded the younger woman with worry. "What did you do to strain it?" she asked just as Jiro came over with the sandwich and the tea. "No matter, I'll have my doctor come over tomorrow to look you over," she waved Aki's reply off. "I'd rather hear why you suddenly decided to leave your home and your career to come here."

Aki shook her head. "It hasn't been aired on the news yet?" she asked, looking thoughtfully out of the window. "I'd rather not tell you here Auntie Mitsuko." She stared down at the cup of tea in her hands. "Especially since I haven't been recognized yet," she added.

"Recognized?" Jiro came to their table. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to introduce myself." He offered his hand to Aki and smiled. "I'm Jiro Yasamura. I'm the head waiter of the Aki Café."

Aki shook hands with the friendly man and returned the smile. "I'm Logan Aki Walsh. My American friends call me Logan but my family calls me Aki."

The waiter blinked at the raven-haired woman. "Logan Walsh?" he murmured. "Sounds quite familiar. Ow!" he cried out when his boss punched him on his arm. "What was that for?"

"You have work to do remember?" Mitsuko reminded her subordinate. "And as for the familiarity of Aki-chan's name, it's probably because you heard me mention her name before." She scowled at the young man when he refused to move. "Well? What are you waiting for?" she demanded, watching as the young man paled and scurried back to the kitchen.

Aki chuckled as she downed her cup of tea and began to work on the club sandwich. "You're still as fierce as I remember you," she mused.

"I'll take that as compliment!" Mitsuko replied. "So where are you planning to stay?"

"Probably I'll go look for an apartment somewhere and look for a job."

Mitsuko raised her delicate eyebrows at her niece. "You come here just to separate yourself from your dear Auntie?" she asked in a whiny voice. "You can come live with me!"

Aki shook her head. "I'd rather not. I want to live on my own here in Japan," she told her. "I don't want to have you looking after me especially since I'm a twenty-seven year old woman who's quite capable of taking care of herself."

"I don't have a doubt that you could take care of yourself," Mitsuko said. "But I still want to help you." She took a deep breath. "If I can't convince you to live with me then I can at least offer you a job at this café."

The raven-haired woman bowed her head in thanks. "I'd truly appreciate that and I'd be glad to help around in your café."

"Great!" Mitsuko gestured for Jiro to come to their table. "I know we have some spare uniforms at the back, but it looks like none of the female uniforms will fit her," she told the waiter. "So I want you to give Aki two of the black vests for the moment. I'll take her shopping for slacks and white polo shirts tomorrow."

"Yokai!" Jiro replied playfully and went to do his boss' bidding.

"So when do I start work?" Aki asked.

"Tomorrow if ever after the doctor checks your shoulder," Mitsuko replied.

"By the way Auntie Mitsuko, I noticed that your bar is damaged. What happened?"

"Oh we had a mishap with a hold-upper a few days ago, but some kind policewomen saved us from any more damage." The café owner got up and walked to the cash register to answer the ringing phone. "Oh, I'll help you find a nearby apartment as soon as I finish going over the financial reports."

Aki leaned back against her chair and twiddled with the piercings on her right ear. "Sure Auntie… sure…" she murmured, reaching into her shorts' pocket and pulling out a hand-woven blue and silver friendship bracelet. _I still can't forget… The guilt will never cease existing in my heart after what happened._

* * *

_**Phew! That was quite a long first chapter although I'm quite content with how it turned out! Anyway, I know that it was a sad end for Toukairin, but then again I'd like to see Natsumi in a close-distance relationship that's more serious than the one she has with Toukairin. **_

_**Regarding Logan "Aki" Walsh, I actually based her on a good friend of mine who's an avid boulderer and she was the reason why I got the idea to make a You're Under Arrest fanfiction story. **_

_**As of the moment, I'm also in the process of making another story, so I won't be able to update as fast. Until I manage to make another chapter, I'd like to hear your opinions and suggestions after having read the first chapter.**_

_**Shadowed one **_


	2. The Chase

_Chapter 2: The Chase_

"Natsumi... Natsumi!"

"Just five more minutes!" Natsumi grumbled, rolling over onto her stomach and burrowing her face into her pillow. A full minute of silence went by before the chronically late police officer bolted up. "Shit! I'm going to be late!" she cursed loudly, scrambling off her bed. "Miyuki wait for-"

"Baka," Miyuki lightly rapped her best friend's head with her fist. "You have the day off today remember?" she patiently reminded the older woman. She participated in a short staring contest against her roommate before the brunette snapped out of her early morning stupor.

"Day... off?" Natsumi muttered, briskly rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. She squinted at the calendar hanging on the far side of her room. "Ah... it is my day off." She let out a long yawn and lay back down on her bed. "More sleep for me then," she muttered. She was making herself comfortable when Miyuki rapped her head again. "What?!" she demanded in annoyance as she rubbed her afflicted head.

"It may be your day off, but you still have work to do!" Miyuki scolded, drawing the blinds and allowing light to stream inside the room.

"Huh? What do you mean I have work to do today?" Natsumi asked, propping her head on her hand.

Miyuki released an exasperated sigh. This was one of the things that deeply frustrated her. Her partner had this annoying habit of being extremely forgetful. "We're supposed to go to Aki Café for lunch."

"Eh?"

"Soryu-san insisted that she treat us to lunch because we stopped the robber," Miyuki explained.

The brunette let out another yawn. "Oh that incident." She scratched her head and regarded her best friend sleepily. "I don't remember Soryu-san offering to treat us out to lunch at her café."

"That's because you were too busy celebrating knocking out the robber with one of your signature Natsumi kicks," Miyuki said drily. "I do often wonder why we should be rewarded because you damaged Soryu-san's bar," she added.

"Hoy! At least I did stop that guy from robbing them!" Natsumi grunted. "Even if it meant sort of damaging their bar…" she added sheepishly. "Awww… come on Miyuki! Stop giving me a hard time already!" she complained as she chucked her pillow at the blue-haired woman who easily evaded the half-hearted attack.

"Alright! Alright!" The mechanic moved back towards the door. "Don't forget! Twelve noon at Aki Café!" With that last reminder, Miyuki left the room to head to the Bokuto Police Station.

* * *

"It really isn't a problem, Miyuki-san," Mitsuko assured the embarrassed police officer. "If I didn't twitch an eyebrow when Natsumi smashed the robber against the bar, what makes you think that I'd get annoyed just because you brought extra friends along?" The owner of the café could only laugh with Aoi and Yoriko while Miyuki turned crimson.

"But Soryu-san!" Miyuki tried, waving her hands at her co-police officers. "They weren't even here when we stopped the robber!" She glared at Yoriko mostly who had gotten wind of Miyuki and Natsumi's escapade. The bespectacled woman threatened to blackmail the two officers by telling the chief of Natsumi's offense.

Mitsuko shook her head anyway and ushered the three policewomen into her café and settled them around a vacant table. "You shouldn't stress yourself out like this," she scolded the younger woman. "Besides, I really don't mind treating Yoriko-san and Aoi-san for lunch. If we get the same kind of trouble again, at least I know that I have two other people to call aside from you and Natsumi-san," she added, waving at Jiro.

"Hai! Hai! We'll be here in a hurry if you call us!" Yoriko said cheerfully, grinning at Aoi who could only shake her head. "Aoi-chan and I are just as good as Miyuki and Natsumi!" she claimed, glasses flashing white.

"Yoriko…" Miyuki said menacingly.

"Waahhh! Aoi-chan!" The straight-haired brunette cowered at the transvestite's side. "Miyuki's scaring me!"

The former basketball player rolled her eyes and accepted a menu from Jiro. "Don't count on me to save you," Aoi advised her partner. "You do deserve some punishment for your rude behavior." She smiled at the head waiter after placing her order. "Just be thankful that Natsumi-san isn't here yet and that she doesn't know what you're planning to do if both she Miyuki-san didn't allow you to come here."

"You're mean Aoi-chan!" Yoriko complained, getting teary eyed with how her friends were ganging up on her. "We do deserve some time in the limelight, you know?" She sniffed and tipped her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Why do Miyuki and Natsumi always get the spotlight?" she whined, eyes suddenly twinkling when a strawberry parfait was set in front of her.

"Now, now," Mitsuko said. "There's no need to be jealous of your coworkers when you're here in my café." She held a tray of assorted desserts while her headwaiter carried two trays filled with food and beverages. "Which reminds me, where is Natsumi-san?" she directed the question at Miyuki.

Miyuki shook her head. "She actually has the day off today, but I told her to drop by," she replied, a frown growing on her face. "Although knowing her, she probably decided to sleep a bit more and will be arriving late," she added, getting nods of agreement from her fellow police officers. Taking a sip of her tea, she let out a satisfied sigh and scanned the interior of the well-furnished café. "I see that the dent on your bar is still there," Miyuki said wryly.

Mitsuko laughed. "Well, the repairman I called over said that it'll take a few days to smooth out the dent, but he was shocked when I told him that a policewoman caused it." She grabbed a chair and sat next to Miyuki while Aoi struggled to pace the unusually voracious appetite of her partner. "I didn't realize how strong Natsumi was until she knocked out the robber with one kick."

Miyuki chuckled at this. "I could easily guess that you were also shocked when Natsumi picked up the unconscious robber and carried him out to the holding vehicle." She could still remember how her partner triumphantly lifted the man above her head much to the awe of the management and the customers. "She's a show-off and loves attention, but she's always been dedicated to her job."

"I could see that," Mitsuko replied. "I've never seen a pair of policewomen to swoop into action and dispose of the threat in less than three minutes!" she exclaimed. "Did you ever mention how you and Natsumi-san became partners?"

Miyuki shook her head and proceeded to narrate her story in the police academy and graduating at the top of her class. Of course, her not so fairytale meeting with Natsumi when the latter was assigned to the Bokuto station to be her partner was not left out. With Aoi and Yoriko providing extra details, the owner of the Aki Café was enthralled.

Meanwhile, a green taxi pulled up several meters down the street and waited as its passenger got out of the car and walked to the back. The trunk popped open and the raven-haired woman stooped down to gather the bulky and heavy box in her arms. "Sorry if I couldn't drop you off in front of the café," the driver apologized with a bow of his head. "Too many cars parked at its front and we'll be stalling the oncoming traffic."

"It's alright." The woman bowed her head in thanks to the driver and stepped onto the sidewalk to let the taxi continue on its way. Taking care not to drop her heavy burden, the tall foreigner lugged the box down the sidewalk, politely excusing herself from other pedestrians. Even with the long-sleeved white polo covering her arms, most of the passers-by could see the visible line of muscle that ran up her arms. She was certainly a sight that both women and men stared at because of her foreign looks. Reaching the café, the woman pushed the door open with her foot and walked inside the establishment, the tinkling of a bell announcing her arrival. "Hey Auntie Mitsuko! I'm back!" she announced, immediately noticing afterward that her aunt was entertaining three police officers.

"Oh Aki-chan!" Mitsuko slipped out of her chair and stepped towards her niece. "I was wondering what time you were going to get back!" She raised an eyebrow at the young woman and clucked her tongue. "It looks like you just rolled out of bed without even bothering to fix yourself up!" Reaching out with her hands, she quickly ran them through her niece's hair in an attempt to tidy it up. "There! That's a bit better!"

Aki may have not seen her Aunt for years, but she was certainly still used to her motherly antics. Mitsuko had gotten married, but to her disappointment, she could not bear any children. She and her husband got a divorce when Mitsuko wished to adopt a child. The adoption never pushed through in the end due to the birth of Aki. Back then, Mitsuko lived in the California home of her younger sister and brother-in-law and she played a hand in the raising of Aki until she was around seven years old. Mitsuko ended up going back to Japan to pursue her career. "I'm alright," Aki assured her aunt, resettling her grip on her burden. "I just wished that you told me that the new glasses that you ordered for your bar weren't going to be this heavy."

Mitsuko's mouth formed into a small "o" before transforming into a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that Aki-chan!" she said cheerfully, waving Jiro over to take the box out of Aki's arms. "I was just a little bit excited and I forgot about the shoulder that you strained the other day." Once her niece's burned was removed, she crooked her finger at the taller woman. "Now come give me a kiss, Aki-chan."

Although she placed a scowl on her face, Aki felt more amused at her aunt than annoyed, as she had to stoop to peck her aunt on the cheek. "You and mom are the same," she told her, running her fingers through her dark hair. "You're both freaks of kissing!" Expecting retaliation, she was quickly able to sidestep the slap aimed at her arm.

"Aki-chan…" Mitsuko warned. "Anymore teasing on your part and I'm going to cut your salary," she threatened, the smile never leaving her face. "Oh I forgot!" The café owner clapped her hands together and dragged her niece to the table filled with police officers. "Sorry about that. I kind of lost myself back there for a minute," she told the women, positioning Aki beside her. "Ladies, I'd like to introduce you to my newest employee." She patted Aki on one shoulder. "She also happens to be my favorite niece! Meet Aki-chan!"

The policewomen did nothing to hide their amused smiles as Aki furrowed her eyebrows at her aunt's somewhat over the top introduction of her. Switching to an easy smile, Aki politely bowed to them. "My aunt has this tendency of embarrassing me even when she doesn't mean to do it," she told them, not even flinching when her aunt finally landed a slap on her backside. "Anyway, I'm Logan Walsh, but my family calls me Aki."

"So you're from Ireland?" Aoi asked after introducing herself to the raven-haired woman.

Aki shook her head. "I have Irish blood, which comes from my father's side of the family, but I was born and raised in California," she explained, pulling a chair over to the table and taking a seat next to her Aunt. "I'm half Japanese though."

"Ohhhh…" Yoriko leaned closer to get a better look. "Up close, you would be able to tell that you have Japanese blood in you. Otherwise, everyone would think that you have a different ancestry." She leaned back in her seat and took another bite of her cake. "You have such pretty eyes though!" she complimented the older woman.

Aki nodded her head. "Thanks… I think." She rubbed the back of her head with her hand as Aoi and Yoriko continued to ask her questions. In a way, she could say that she was used to the attention, but it still felt rather awkward especially with the blue-haired policewoman looking so closely at her.

"Miyuki!" Yoriko called her co-officer out of her thoughts. "You haven't spoken a word since you introduced yourself to Aki-chan!"

"Aki-chan?" Aki murmured to herself, not at all sure how she was supposed to react.

The blue-haired police officer shook her head and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry," she began. "It's just that I feel that you're someone familiar," she admitted, giving Aki another closer look, amaranth-colored eyes widening in realization. "Wait a minute! Did you happen to be at the outdoor event of the Bokuto mall the other day?" she demanded, shooting up to her feet and bracing her hands against the table.

Aki raised an elegant eyebrow at the woman, but nodded her head anyway. "I was," she replied, glancing at her aunt who let out a sigh of relief. It looked like her secret was still safe for the moment. "I don't recall seeing you though," she told Miyuki.

Miyuki shook her head and smiled. "You probably didn't especially since you were on that rock-climbing wall saving that schoolgirl," she pointed out, eyes twinkling when the raven-haired woman grinned sheepishly at her.

"Ah, so you were one of the police officers at the scene." The half-Irish woman rolled up her sleeves to her elbows and dusted the crumbs off her black vest. "Was the girl alright?" she asked. "I had to leave right away because I had to meet up with Auntie Mitsuko." Actually, that was just part of the reason.

"She's alright," Miyuki told her. "She expressed her thanks and asked us to thank you if we ever did find you." The mechanic glanced at her watch and frowned. "Your jacket is with us by the way. The girl gave it to us for safe-keeping just in case you came around looking for it."

Aki nodded her head gratefully. "I'll try to pass by for it sometime," she promised, pushing herself away from the table and getting to her feet. "Anyway, I should go back to work," she told them. "I do have to earn my keep here as an employee of the Aki Café." She shoved her hands into her pockets and was about to head behind the bar when the door burst open and at least a dozen white flashes blinded Aki and the other women around her.

"There she is!" One cameraman knocked over a table as he struggled against the other photographers. "So the taxi driver's information was accurate!" he exclaimed, screwing on a camera lens and immediately began to take pictures of the bewildered raven-haired woman before him.

"Miss Walsh! Can you answer some of our questions?" one man shouted.

"Since when have you been here in Japan?"

"Have you quit your job?"

Mitsuko and Jiro stood their ground as the photographers tried to surround her niece. "Damn! This isn't turning out so good," she muttered, holding her hand over the nearest camera lens. "Aoi-san! Yoriko-san! I didn't think I'd be asking so soon, but I need your help!"

As Aoi and Yoriko stood up to try to control the crowd, Miyuki looked at the perplexed Aki and began to wonder who she really was. If she were an ordinary woman, she wouldn't have attracted such a large number of photographers. The mechanic got to her feet and was about to help her co-officers out when Mitsuko cried out to her niece.

"Use the back door, Aki-chan!"

Without hesitation, the amber-eyed woman agilely vaulted over the bar and ran out of the back door, which caused an even worse commotion in the café. As the photographers ran out of the café, some with their own vehicles, Aoi and Yoriko helped Mitsuko up to her feet.

"That was definitely strange," Yoriko remarked.

Aoi nodded her head in agreement. "It certainly was." She peered through the window and watched as the photographers either drove or ran in pursuit of the raven-haired woman. "What could they possibly want with her?" she wondered aloud.

Mitsuko shook her head and walked over to Miyuki. "Miyuki-san, I know this is strange, but please help Aki-chan!" she pleaded with her, grabbing hold of both of the ace driver's hands. "I can't explain it to you now, but it'd greatly help if you're able to save Aki-chan from those photographers!"

Miyuki opened her mouth to ask more question, but the troubled look in Mitsuko's eyes made her stop. Just then, the sounds of a motorcycle engine filled her ears and she knew exactly what to do to help both Mitsuko and Aki out. Running outside of the café, Miyuki waved her hands at an oncoming black Honda Nighthawk motorcycle. "Natsumi!" she yelled, coming closer as the bike cruised to a stop in front of her.

"Hoy Miyuki!" Natsumi greeted, putting her foot on the ground and pushing up the visor of her helmet. "Sorry I'm late, but you see there was this old woman who was crossing the street and-"

Miyuki shook her head. "Stop with the excuses, Natsumi!" She pointed down the road. "There are a bunch of photographers who came into the café just awhile ago and they're chasing after Mitsuko-san's niece." She held up her hand to stop her partner from asking questions. "We don't have any time to talk! Go follow those photographers, save Mitsuko-san's niece and take her somewhere safe!"

"Oh alright already!" Natsumi shouted, pushing down her visor and throttling the gas. "Man! She didn't even tell me how Mitsuko-san's niece looked like!" The off-duty officer cursed under her breath as she sped down the road in search of the photographers. As she passed one street, she glimpsed two vans following a raven-haired woman through the busy streets. The unknown woman sharply turned into a narrow road and disappeared from her sight. Natsumi knew that road and often used it when in pursuit of a traffic law offender.

While the vans took the nearest street to follow their subject, Natsumi took another route that would bring her to a small intersection where she would anticipate the arrival of the raven-haired woman. Bringing her bike to a screeching halt, Natsumi braced her foot on the ground and sat up with one hand still wrapped around the gas bar. "Where is she?" Natsumi muttered as she scanned her surrounding area. "There's no other place for her to end up if she used that street not unless she's really fast." She was about to head off to another area when the raven-haired woman came into her view, leaping over a fence and running towards her. "Hoy! Come on!" Natsumi yelled, holding out her hand to the confused woman who had abruptly stopped in her tracks.

Precious seconds ticked by as she and Mitsuko's niece stared at each other. "If you don't come with me, those photographers are going to catch you!" Just as she said that, the two vans came skidding onto the street they were on. "Well?!" she demanded, locking eyes with those amber orbs. Thankfully, the other woman needed no more encouragement and closed the distance between them with a few strides. She jumped behind Natsumi on the bike and as soon as the raven-haired woman wrapped her bared arms around the biker's waist, they took off.

Natsumi looked at her side mirrors to check if the vans were still following. Much to her annoyance and frustration, the two vans had doubled into four. She counted seven heads sticking out of the vans' windows with around four of them holding cameras. They were starting to annoy her and she knew how to get rid of them especially since she was on a bike. Sharply turning onto one Bokuto's busiest streets, Natsumi almost let out a whoop of triumph when she saw the slow moving traffic up ahead. "Hold on!" she yelled to her passenger as she began to weave through the assortment of vehicles on the road. They passed through three succeeding stoplights before Natsumi turned into a less congested street.

"Did we lose them?" Natsumi asked no one in particular as she once again halted the bike at the side of the street. Interestingly enough, she could feel her passenger's heartbeat when she leaned back and sat up. It wasn't the rapid palpitations that most of her passengers would have, but a paced and steady beat. Now that was something really rare for her. "Well, it looks like we're home free," she told the woman seated behind her. "I'll bring you back to Mitsuko-san's ca-" she halted her speech abruptly when two new vans with photographers turned onto the street from the other end. "Damn it!" she cursed, clutching the brake, twisting the gas hard and turning her bike 360 degrees. "How many are there?!"

This time she had no idea where to go. She struggled to come up with a plan to throw off the photographers but came up with nothing each time she tried to formulate something. Planning and driving at the same time may cause her problems too especially if she wasn't aware of which streets she was taking. If she lost focus, she might end up driving into a dead end street and trapping herself and her passenger.

Just then, as Natsumi was going downhill, she spotted a familiar temple at a distance and smiled underneath the protection of her helmet. If she remembered correctly, she had crashed through the trees on the hill and ended up on the temple grounds. Perhaps doing a repeat wouldn't be so bad especially since she couldn't make ride her bike up the temple stairs. Seeing a parked pick-truck with a ramp attached to the back a few meters away from the temple stairs, Natsumi shifted gears and roared towards it. Upon hitting the ramp, the strongwoman of Bokuto Station held on to the handlebars tightly as she, her passenger and bike flew through the air.

Crashing through the thicket of small trees and undergrowth, Natsumi struggled to keep her bike upright as she felt branches scrape against her body. After a few more moments of being battered by the seemingly harmless plants, they finally burst into the solid stone yard of the temple. The bike skid to a sudden stop and threw the passenger into an ungraceful heap on the ground. "Shimatta!" Natsumi cried out, kicking down the kickstand of her bike and hurriedly getting off. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

"There's only one person who could cause a commotion in my temple and that could only be you Natsumi-san." A bald and bearded monk dressed in dark maroon robes slid open the fusuma and stepped onto the polished wooden floors of the porch. The monk clucked his tongue at the still helmeted biker. "Natsumi," he said in a scolding tone. "Now I have to call in the landscape specialist to fix the damage you've done this time around." He sat down on the wooden porch and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Osou-san!" The brown-haired woman pulled off her helmet and began to bow repeatedly to the monk. "Please forgive me! I didn't really have a choice where to go and I just happened to see you temple and-"

The monk held his hand up for silence. "Let's hear your explanation later," he told her. "Right now, I think you should tend to your passenger." He glanced at the raven-haired woman who was now sitting up on the ground. "Natsumi, the next time you decide to crash through the trees around my temple, you should think about the welfare of your passengers." He got to his feet, entered his home and came back out with a first aid kit.

"Eh?" Natsumi looked confused as she looked at the Mitsuko's niece. Her forest green eyes widened in realization as an assortment of cuts covered the woman's exposed arms. Thankfully, they were shallow cuts and none seemed to grace her face except for one nasty-looking cut on the side of her neck. Swallowing her guilt, the police officer stepped closer to the woman and offered her gloved hand to her. "I'm really sorry and it was really sudden when I picked you up, but Miyuki and Soryu-san insisted that I come and save you from those photographers." She grabbed hold of the woman's hand and helped her to her feet. "I'm Natsumi Tsujimoto by the way," she introduced herself as she led the taller woman to the porch and made her sit.

The amber-eyed woman grimaced as she stared at her bloody arms. "I'm Logan Walsh, but you could call me Aki." She reached up, gingerly touched the cut on her neck and flinched at the sudden flash of pain.

Natsumi immediately swooped into action. "Here let me help," she said, grabbing the first aid kit and flipping the cover open. For a moment, she hesitated because of her talent at botching up first aid treatment, but she shook her head and started by applying disinfectant to the cuts on Aki's arms before covering them with an adhesive band-aid. "So…" Natsumi glanced up and met those piercing amber orbs. "Would you happen to know why those photographers were chasing after you?"

Almost immediately, Aki's amber eyes darkened as she looked away and scowled deeply. "I don't know," she told both Natsumi and the monk. It was a lame attempt to keep her identity a secret, but she really wasn't in the mood to give a full and detailed explanation for the recent events that transpired.

"Now, now Aki-san," Osou started. "Perhaps it would be beneficial if you explain to us why those photographers were tailing you." He took a seat next to Natsumi who was still applying disinfectant to the cuts on Aki's arm. "Natsumi is a police officer and I was a former one myself." He was going to ask once again, when his telephone started ringing. "Excuse me," he said, getting up and walking inside to answer the phone.

An awkward silence was shared between the off duty policewoman and the still scowling foreign woman. Finally, Natsumi broke the silence when she needed to treat the cut on Aki's neck. "Sorry, but could you tip your head back so that I could treat the cut on your neck?" she asked, poised with a swab of disinfectant and rather large white band-aid. While Natsumi worked quickly on Aki's neck, she remarked, "You must work out a lot."

Aki raised her eyebrows. "I do, I suppose," she said, feeling a little bit uneasy.

"Gym?" Natsumi queried, putting the finishing touches on the first aid treatment and leaning back with a sigh.

The raven-haired woman shook her head. "I do go to the gym once in a while, but I keep fit with my sport." She let one leg dangle over the edge of the porch while she folded the other on the polished wooden floor. "I rarely had time anyway to go to the gym when I was still living in California."

"So what's your sport?" Natsumi asked out of curiosity.

"I'm a professional boulderer."

For a few seconds, Natsumi stared hard at the woman before her then surged forward with her face looming just a few inches away from Aki's own. "Ehhhhhh!" Natsumi exclaimed. "You're that girl!" she shouted, watching Aki almost recoil from her sudden outburst.

"Huh?" Aki smiled awkwardly at the policewoman.

"Bokuto mall!"

Aki raised an eyebrow and let out a long breath. "Oh now I remember you," she told Natsumi. "You're that other police officer who was distracting me with all her yelling at the rock-climbing wall." She didn't flinch when Natsumi raised her fist threateningly at her. "Yeah, that was you alright." Aki turned away from the brown-haired woman and gazed at the temple grounds. She let out a sigh. "I was stupid to think that I would be left in peace if I went to another country," she said, not exactly knowing what pushed her to confide in Natsumi.

The original annoyance that Natsumi felt towards Aki dissipated as it was replaced by a feeling of interest. "So you left America to get away from the hullaballoo," she pointed out, silently guessing that Aki was someone famous in the west.

Aki shrugged. "Well yeah, that's mostly the reason," she admitted. "I was getting tired of all the attention and I needed a break." She reached into her pocket and took out the blue and silver hand-woven friendship bracelet she always kept with her. She gazed at the accessory and let out another sigh. "I also needed some time alone to think," she said. "With my blossoming career in the states, America wasn't exactly the place for me to contemplate in," she said in a wry drawl.

Natsumi let out a low whistle. "I didn't realize that a career in bouldering would make you that famous," she started, not noticing the weird look Aki was giving her. "But yeah, I sort of understand why you feel that way." She braced her hands on her knees and looked up at the sky. "Needing some time alone to think… I needed that back then and it took me a while to actually get that time." Sadness settled on her face.

"You lost someone too, huh?"

Natsumi looked at Aki in shock. "How did you know?" she demanded, inwardly slapping herself for giving herself away so easily.

Aki shrugged her shoulders. "I just guessed," she admitted, leaning back on her hands. "That look on your face reminded me of how I looked like a few months ago." She shook her head ruefully. "I was really out of it," she continued, holding up the blue bracelet.

The brunette stared at the bracelet then looked at Aki carefully. Now she could see the sober look that framed the raven-haired woman's face. Aki had lost someone special too and she left her home so that she could recuperate from the loss. "Who was he?" Natsumi asked, feeling a little more like kindred spirits with the foreigner.

"_She,_ actually," Aki corrected, ignoring how appalled Natsumi looked. "My childhood friend," she explained. "She passed away a few months ago and I wasn't there to see her through." Aki shook her head and pressed a hand against her forehead. "I was so tied up in my career that I didn't even realize that something had gone wrong. By the time I arrived, she was already gone." She pocketed the friendship bracelet. "I can't help but feel that I'm at fault."

Inadvertently, Natsumi felt somewhat drawn to this woman. She found it difficult to find people who could understand her especially when Tokairin died. Even Miyuki had difficulty snapping her out of her depressed state although she finally got to do that several months afterwards. Somehow, she finally found someone who has felt the same way she did… lonely. The only difference of course was that Aki was blaming herself for her friend's death.

"Natsumi! Are you here?"

"Miyuki-san! Are you sure Natsumi-san brought Aki-chan here?"

Aki shook her head and got to her feet. "Looks like the cavalry has arrived."

Natsumi also got to her feet just as Miyuki reached the top of the stairs with Mitsuko breathing heavily behind her. "Next time you invite me to lunch, please don't send me off on an impromptu case," she told her partner. "If I hadn't spotted Aki-san being chased by the photographers, I wouldn't have even recognized her in the first place." She rolled up her jacket's sleeves and glared at Miyuki.

"I'm sorry, but even if I tried to explain everything, you probably would have lost the trail and Aki-san probably would be at the mercy of those photographers now." She placed both of her hands on Natsumi's shoulders. "You did a great job today," she told her green-eyed companion. "I'll treat you out for dinner as a reward."

Natsumi's eyes brightened at the prospect. "Really? Great! I'm quite hungry right now actually so I'll probably get a bite somewhere." She looked over at Aki who was trying to stay upright while her aunt assaulted her with a fierce hug. "So did you know that Aki-san over there is our mysterious rescuer in the Bokuto mall incident?"

Miyuki nodded. "It took me some time to recognize her, but I eventually figured it out." Both women walked over to Mitsuko and Aki. "Soryu-san," Miyuki began. "Did the photographers do any damage to your café? If they did, you could file a complaint." She looked at Aki's treated injuries with sympathy before giving Natsumi a quick glare for being careless.

"Fortunately, aside from a few of our tables and chairs being knocked over, nothing else was badly damaged," Mitsuko replied, looking relieved. "I don't care much for the tables and chairs though. I'm happy that Aki-chan is safe." She hugged her niece once more.

Aki sighed and disentangled herself from her aunt's embrace. "I'm alright, Auntie Mitsuko," she assured the older woman. "I'm fine thanks to Natsumi-san's help." She bowed her thanks to the policewoman in civilian attire. "I am indebted to you," she told Natsumi sincerely.

"Huh?" Natsumi gave them an awkward smile and scratched her head. "It's really nothing," she said. "I'm just doing my job and I'm glad to be of service." She grabbed her helmet off the wooden porch and waved at the monk. She figured that the monk somehow got information to the police station so that they could inform Miyuki of her whereabouts. After all, he was formerly involved with the police and had played a role in training the chief of the Bokuto traffic department. "Well, I'm off," she announced to everyone. "I'll see you at dinner, ok Miyuki?" She put her helmet back on and mounted her bike.

"Wait Natsumi-san!" Mitsuko let out. "Why not come over with us to the café? I still have to repay you for what you did the other day and for saving Aki-chan," she told her. "Let me treat you out for lunch at least. It'll make me feel better and I'm sure Aki-chan feels the same."

Natsumi looked over at Aki who merely shrugged her shoulders. "I'd rather repay you at a different time," Aki told her. "Going back to the café doesn't seem like a good idea as of the moment and I think we should take up the offer of Miyuki so that those pesky photographers won't bother us at the café."

Mitsuko sighed. "Well Miyuki-san, I guess I'll be coming with you to the police station. As for Aki-chan, would it be possible if we dropped her off at her apartment first? I think she needs a break after all the happened today." She got a nod of agreement from Aki herself. With that, the three women made their way to the stairs where Miyuki's patrol car was parked at the bottom.

While Mitsuko and the blue-haired mechanic were already on their way down, Aki paused at the top of the stairs, waved goodbye to Natsumi and saluted her too. "Thanks," she said in English then without further ado, followed her aunt down the stairs.

Natsumi let out a long sigh and ignited her bike's engines. "Now this was certainly an interesting day," she told herself.

"It'll be more interesting as you try to figure out how to get down to the road from here," Osou interjected.

"Ehhhhh?" Natsumi cried out, realizing that the only way down either was to crash through the trees and shrubbery again or carry her bike down the stairs.

* * *

"Good work yesterday, Tsujimoto," the chief of the Bokuto traffic department told the young woman in the presence of the other members of the department. "I got a full account of what you did from Kobayakawa and Soryu-san has also vouched for you." He sipped his cup of tea and set it down on his table. "However, this does not excuse you for your tardiness this morning."

Natsumi flinched and bowed deeply to the chief. "Kachou! Please forgive me for my tardiness!" she apologized, feeling embarrassed that she was caught being late again despite the success of her impromptu mission the other day. "This time though I have the perfect explanation! You see, there was this schoolgirl who crossed my path and she needed-"

"That would be enough Tsujimoto," Kachou interrupted, smiling inwardly at the utter sense of defeat Natsumi displayed in front of his desk. "I'll be expecting an apology letter by the end of the day." He nodded his thanks to Aoi who refilled his cup of tea.

Natsumi sulked as she made her way back to her desk. First, she was praised and now she was being punished. Well, not really being punished, but she still had to make that apology letter. Someone clearing her throat made her look up from her paperwork. She glared at the amused looking Miyuki who sat adjacent to her in the traffic department. "Why didn't you wake me?" she hissed out.

"I did," Miyuki interjected, straightening the things on her desk. "Several times in fact," she added. "I was even planning on dropping one of your dumbbells on your head, but then again it was a tad bit too heavy for me and I didn't want to risk you getting a concussion." She returned Natsumi's scowl with a bright smile. "Don't worry Natsumi. I'm sure the chief isn't angry at you."

"Yeah… but it's going on my record anyway," Natsumi said drily. "What time are we going on patrol? I'm planning to make that apology letter now before we head out."

Miyuki glanced at her watch. "In around thirty minutes or so," she replied. "It might be a good idea to start on that apology letter now although knowing you it'll take you more time to actually finish it."

"Awww Miyuki!"

"Hoy!" Yoriko called out from the door of the traffic department. "We have a visitor and I think she brought some delicious cake for us!" she announced, walking into the room and stepping aside to allow a tall figure dressed casually in an ocean blue long sleeved shirt, faded jeans and sneakers to come inside. Familiar short and layered raven-black hair as well as the array of silver earrings that lined one ear caught the attention of both Miyuki and Natsumi.

"Aki-san?" Miyuki stood up and walked up to the taller woman who held a large white box. "What brings you here?" she asked, taking the offered box and peering at the half-Irish woman who wore a pair of dark tinted shades.

Aki smiled and slipped off her shades, pretending not to notice the collective intakes of breath done by both the men and women of the traffic department as her bright amber orbs glinted in the sparse sunlight that trickled into the room. "Well, I'm here to claim my jacket and bring this cake as thanks for helping me yesterday." She raised an inquiring eyebrow at Miyuki, leaned around the shorter woman and saw a familiar chocolate brown-haired woman furiously writing at her desk. "She seems rather busy," she remarked.

Miyuki laughed. "Well, she was late for work this morning and the chief ordered her to make an apology letter and submit it at the end of the day." She carefully balanced the box with one hand and used the other to peek inside. "Oh wow! Strawberry cheesecake!" she exclaimed, immediately regretting her announcement when Yoriko lunged forward.

"Cheesecake? Give me some!" Yoriko cried, trying to reach for the white box.

"Oh no you don't!" Natsumi growled, jumping out of her chair and grabbing the back of the collar of Yoriko's uniform. "Didn't you hear what Aki-san say? The cake is for me and for Miyuki!" Using her strength, she lifted a protesting Yoriko off the ground.

"Waahhh! Not fair! Aoi-chan and I were there too!"

Aki started chuckling. "Actually Natsumi-san, I brought the cake for everyone here in the department," she told the stunned officer. "Now, why don't you put down Yoriko-san?" She let out a breath when Natsumi refused to do so. Making up her mind, she stepped forward, grabbed Yoriko by her arms and pulled her out of Natsumi's grip. "There you go," she said, setting the bespectacled woman on her feet, much to the awe of the other police officers.

"Did you see that?" Nakajima exclaimed. "She just plucked Yoriko out of Tsujimoto's hands!" He stared at the raven-haired woman then stared at an irritated Natsumi. "Looks like there's another person who's actually stronger than you," he pointed out, flinching when Natsumi shot him a scary look.

Miyuki stepped in between her partner and Aki before anything could happen. "Now wait a minute. We don't need any trouble right now," she told everyone, but eyed Natsumi specifically. To Aki, she explained, "Natsumi takes pride in her strength and she has this bad habit of challenging anyone who looks as strong as her."

Aki raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she asked. "Well if you do want to challenge me, I wouldn't really mind."

Miyuki held a hand over her eyes. "Oh no… are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into Aki-san?"

"Aki," the raven-haired woman corrected. "Drop the honorifics and just call me Aki," she continued. "It's just a simple challenge right?"

"Well if you call lifting cars something simple," Nakajima called out from his desk.

Aki threw her head back and let out a throaty laugh. "You must be kidding," she said in between breaths. "Lifting cars?" She stopped laughing when the whole department remained silent and merely stared at her. "You're serious? Natsumi can lift cars?" she asked indignantly. "Well I suppose I should back out from the challenge then. I know I'm strong, but I never tried lifting cars!"

Natsumi's shoulders relaxed knowing that she would not need to prove her superior strength right there and then. She instead propped her hands on her hips and laughed heartily. "Good choice that you decided to back down! You would have probably lost anyway!"

"Hmmm…" Aki rubbed her chin in thought. "On second thought, I brought the cake for Miyuki, Aoi and Yoriko." She couldn't help but find amusement in teasing the Natsumi who stood three inches shorter than her five feet and nine inches. She was only guessing, but she was probably also older than the dark-haired police officer.

"What?!" Natsumi sputtered, raising her fists into the air. "Why you-"

"Tsujimoto! Calm down!"

"… Yes Kachou," Natsumi grumbled as she backed off.

"Anyway before I forget anything, we should be expecting a visitor at any minute now," the chief told everyone.

With that said, the door of the traffic department burst open and in came a light-brown haired woman in a pink shirt and a jean skirt. "Hello everyone! I'm here to visit!" the young woman in her early twenties announced with a wide smile on her face.

"Ah Saori-chan!" Natsumi exclaimed. She was definitely surprised and pleasantly pleased to see the young police officer once again gracing their department. Saori Saga may have been assigned to another precinct, but she was definitely still welcome at the Bokuto station.

"Natsumi-senpai! Miyuki-senpai!" Saori exclaimed. "I'm so glad to see you both!" She walked forward, intent on giving her senpais a hug when she halted in her tracks and stared up at the tall raven-haired woman standing in her way.

Aki felt slightly uncomfortable with the way the girl was looking at her. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Saori's jaw dropped then she let out a long and high-pitched squeal that got almost all the police officers in the traffic department up to their feet. "No way!" she screamed, clawing through her bag and pulling out a pen and a magazine. "Please sign it!" she begged, thrusting both objects at Aki's surprised face.

Miyuki and Natsumi first exchanged confused looks with each other before taking their positions at either side of Saori. They each took an arm and pulled her away. "Saori! What's wrong with you?" Miyuki asked, surprised at the young officer's behavior.

"Yeah! You don't just approach a complete stranger like that!" Natsumi scolded their apprentice.

"But she's not a stranger!" Saori argued and struggled her way out of her senpais' holds. She held up the magazine to them and pointed at the cover. "See! Look here!"

Both policewomen leaned forward and gaped at the cover. A woman with raven-black hair and sleepy amber eyes graced the cover of the magazine. She was dressed in a stylish and expensive black Italian suit with a white collared undershirt and loafers. At the bottom of the magazine cover was the printed name of Logan Walsh.

"I can't believe it!" Saori exclaimed. "I never thought that this magazine was telling the truth when they said that Logan Walsh was laying low in Japan!" She moved forward again and thrust the magazine and pen at Aki once again. "Please let me have your autograph!"

This time Natsumi grabbed the back of Saori's shirt and dragged her back. "Wait a minute! You're going to do no such thing and what do you know about Aki?" she demanded.

Saori gave them a surprised look. "You don't know who Logan Walsh is?" she asked them, flipping open the magazine and scanning the pages. "After suddenly disappearing from the California scene, the paparazzi have finally pinpointed the location of the missing Logan Walsh," she read from the magazine. "Apparently, Logan Walsh has turned up in Tokyo, the homeland of her mother. Why she has suddenly left her blooming career as a model, which overshadows her boulderer profession, for various fashion labels is still unknown. Her contractors, which include Giorgio Armani and Reebok among others, have expressed their concern upon finding out that their model had gone AWOL," Saori read on, while Miyuki, Natsumi and the rest of their companions listened on. "Despite the clean slate Logan Walsh holds, rumors have been going around that the avid boulderer is somewhat related to the fatal base jumping accident of Selene Richards, a childhood friend and an up and coming talent in the acting business. No one knows exactly what is going on, but the sudden disappearance of the half-Irish beauty has made many suspicious."

Miyuki took the magazine from Saori's hands and compared the woman on the cover to that of Aki who now stood motionless before them. "There's no doubt about it," she started. "You're the person this magazine article is talking about." She handed the magazine to Natsumi who quickly scanned through the contents of the article.

Aki let out a weary sigh and gave the officers a sober look. "I was hoping to keep that secret for as long as possible, but unfortunately for me this young lady is up to date with the times," she commented, running her long appendages through her hair. "Yes I'm a model, but only for a few months now. I was a professional boulderer before I took up modeling as a side job," she explained to the stunned police officers.

"Is what the article saying the truth?" Natsumi asked, tossing the magazine onto a nearby table. "Is it true that you had something to do with the death of that woman they mentioned?" She didn't want to believe that this person was capable of doing such a thing.

Amber orbs darkened as Aki shrugged her shoulders and shoved her hands into her pockets. "Rumors are rumors," she told them. "It is true though that Selene, my childhood friend, died from a base jumping accident."

"And is she the reason why you left America and your career?" Natsumi asked.

Aki scowled but nodded her head anyway. "I had to ease the guilt somehow," she muttered. "Look, if you want to know the whole story, I'll be glad to tell you," she told them. "It looks like I need to tell you anyway to acquire your help."

"Help?" Miyuki inquired, glancing at the chief who motioned for her to take Aki into the small meeting room.

"Since the press has found out about my whereabouts, I'm sure the lot of them will be flying over to Japan to tail me," Aki explained. "I went here to avoid that, but things just didn't turn out for the better."

"So explain to us then," Natsumi pressed the taller woman.

Piercing amber eyes locked with forest green ones for a long moment. "It's a long story," Aki finally said. "One that I would rather not recount especially since it gets me really depressed." She followed both officers and the chief into the meeting room.

* * *

_**Finally! An update! I've been really busy and it was only now that I finally got to sit down and type down this next chapter to this You're Under Arrest story. **_

_**Major Mike Powell III: Thanks for the first review! Hahaha! Honestly, I was waiting for a review before deciding on updating this story. Unlike my other stories, reviews were rarely sparse (well, I should have expected it since You're Under Arrest isn't really a popular genre). Well, I did as you ordered Major and I'll be working on the next chapter as soon as I organize my thoughts. **_

_**Next Chapter: Painful Reminiscing**_


	3. Painful Reminiscing

_Chapter 3: Painful Reminiscing_

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* * *

California – Three years ago_

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* * *

_

"Well? Are you going to take the offer?"

A young and physically fit raven-haired woman absently nodded her head and busily continued to type away at her laptop's keyboard. "Sustainability which is achievable in the form of strategies and practices among other factors vary from firm to firm and industry to industry..." she mumbled as she typed.

"Logan!" There was a loud smack as a hand connected with one muscled arm.

"Ow!" Logan looked away from her laptop's screen and directed an irritated glare at her companion. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded hotly, rubbing her afflicted arm.

"It's not me who has a problem!" The younger woman retorted. "You're the one who's been ignoring me!" she argued, hazel-green eyes flashing in annoyance. She was a woman with beauty people would not hesitate to call stunning. Her shoulder length hair was a dark shade of auburn, which complemented her green-flecked hazel eyes. She wore an easy and charming smile, which many men had fawned over. While her friend stood at a few inches off from six feet, she was at an average height of five feet and six inches and beheld the grace and elegance of a dancer.

Logan let out a long sigh. "Sorry," she apologized, pushing the laptop aside on their table. For that particular afternoon, they decided to hang out at a branch of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf branch. "But I expected you to be a bit more considerate since I'm doing revisions for my thesis. I'm scheduled for the final defense next month, you know?" she told her friend. "I really do plan to graduate this October since I'm already delayed by two years." She had just turned twenty-five years old and would have graduated two years earlier if not for her extra-curricular activities.

"Well, it was your decision to go professional in the bouldering circuit," the auburn-haired woman pointed out. "If you had stayed in school, you wouldn't be struggling to catch up and finish," she blamed her. "Instead you decided to travel around the world just to scale a bunch of rocks!"

"And compete," Logan quipped, taking her chai tea latte and sipping from it. Some people would get angry if a friend of theirs talked down on something he or she loves to do, but Logan knew better than to get herself involved in a petty argument. "I did join and win quite a number of competitions." The last competition she had joined was the popular X-Games. It was her first time to compete in the said tournament, but she managed to bag the gold medal in the bouldering event. Her feat immediately made headlines. "Unlike some girl I know who dropped out of college to try her luck in the acting business, at least I'm still going to get my degree in business," she added drily, this time catching her friend's slap with her hand.

"Hey! I'm earning!"

"Selene..." Logan warned. "How can you be earning when you're still stuck at those acting workshops?" she asked, eyebrows raised in question. "And by the way, aren't those acting workshops freaking expensive?"

Selene scowled deeply at her childhood friend. Their friendship started when Selene had spotted a girl with tussled sable hair sitting atop the neighborhood park's jungle gym and staring up at the skies. As a girl of six years of age, she was very curious and was eager to meet other kids especially since her family had just moved into the neighborhood. Her innocent attempt ended up becoming rather scary when she froze near the top of the structure and couldn't find it in herself to climb the rest of the way up or climb back down. In the end, the then eight-year old Logan Walsh had come to her rescue and carried her down on her back. After that incident, they spent every waking minute with each other.

They certainly made an odd pair. Logan Walsh was a half-Japanese and half-Irish girl who was born and raised in California. Selene Richards on the other hand was a full-blooded French girl who was raised in Boston first before her family decided to make their home in the west coast. Selene's parents were glad that their daughter had found a friend and were equally happy when they befriended Logan's parents. Taking the suggestions of the Walsh family, Selene's parents enrolled their daughter at the same elementary school Logan attended. Fortunately, the raven-haired girl was willing and took care of Selene during her first few weeks in the school. Selene had been very shy and had difficulty adjusting, but she eventually came out of her shell thanks to her best friend and her other classmates whom she had befriended. At the end of the each school day, the two girls waited for each other at the school's entrance before making their way back home on foot. The auburn-haired girl's house was always their first stop and it would be unusual if Logan were not invited in to have some snacks.

They stayed close throughout their elementary years until Logan went to a different high school the other neighborhood. Since Selene was two years younger, she would be left behind to fend for herself until she went to high school herself. It wasn't easy for the young girl to adjust without the presence of her best friend, but they had found a way to see each other on most occasions. After school, Selene would hurry to the bus stop and patiently wait for the arrival of the half-Japanese girl. They would then walk home together just as they always had.

When Selene finally entered high school, Logan was quick to notice that her best friend had changed. To be more specific, Selene had become popular. Back then, Logan was the soft-spoken pretty girl who was part of the track team and was blissfully unaware of her popularity. Selene, on the other hand, was always popular because of her looks and her friendly personality, which complemented her run in the student council. Despite the weird looks and comments other students made, both of them ate lunch together, did homework and even went home together. Selene rarely missed any of Logan's track meets while the latter tried to attend the parties of her best friend even if she didn't really like them.

When college came, they separated with Logan going to Berkley University and Selene at the University of California Los Angeles. Many thought that the distance would take a toll on their friendship, but they were wrong. The two friends managed to see each other every week and even kept in touch when Logan decided to take a leave of absence from school to pursue her bouldering career, which she had started a few years earlier with the help and encouragement of her adventurer father.

"I'm paying for two-thirds of the fee," Selene argued, taking a long sip from her iced coffee drink. "And I'm doing all sorts of odd jobs just to come up with the money." She propped her chin onto her hands and gazed seriously at her friend. "I'm already scheduled to audition for a part in this new smalltime television series. I've been practicing hard and I'll be ready for the audition in two months time."

"You do know that a lot of TV shows end up getting cancelled, right?" The raven-haired woman returned her friend's gaze with a level one. She shrugged her shoulders. "Well it doesn't matter anyway. It's the exposure and experience that counts," she claimed. "You never know. You might get discovered and become famous because of it."

Selene nodded her head and released a dreamy sigh. "I hope that happens soon," she said dreamily. She turned serious almost immediately and rounded on her best friend. "Anyway, let's get back to you. Are you going to take up the offer or not?" she demanded.

The boulderer scratched her head. "I don't know ok?" she replied. "Modeling isn't really my type of thing and even if there's income, I don't think it's necessary." Because of her stint in the X-Games, she had garnered quite a lot of attention especially from the press and a number of athletic brands. The latter of which was the more persistent of the two, having contacted Logan on several occasions to discuss her possible endorsement of their products.

Selene let out a frustrated groan. "It's not really modeling!" she argued heatedly. "The modeling you're thinking about is the ramp type. You're going to be a commercial and magazine type of model if you take up the offer," she told her best friend. "Besides, they're athletic brands and I doubt they'll be asking you to pose provocatively or something similar to that effect."

Logan shook her head. "It's not just that, Selene," she tried. "Aside from the fact that I'm not one who loves getting attention, I also don't see this as an opportunity that I should take," she explained seriously. "Look, I'm graduating soon and I'm probably going to graduate with honors too. If I don't decide to continue my bouldering career, I'm set to go into the business world and make a living," Logan enumerated to her friend. "Modeling doesn't really fit in the picture especially since I'm already quite content with my life."

"Awww come on!" Selene whined. "It'll be fun and besides, these kinds of opportunities only present themselves once in a while."

"I have nothing wrong with that," Logan replied in a bored tone. "If I know you any better, the only reason why you want me to take the job is so that I could recommend you for a job or so that you could get freebies."

"Of course not!"

Logan rolled her eyes and pulled her laptop over. "Whatever. I'm going back to work," she announced. "You could stay there and watch me finish my thesis revisions or you could head to your acting workshops."

Selene playfully pouted at her and faked a hurt look. "You're a meanie, Logan!"

"And you're an annoying brat!" Logan retorted, sticking her tongue out at her best friend.

* * *

_California- One year ago_

_

* * *

_

"You're an ass, you know."

Logan sighed and sank deeper into the armchair she sat in. "You could insult me as much as you want and it won't affect me." Several months had gone by since they had last seen each other and it was easy to see that the atmosphere between the two was quite intense. After Selene had finally gotten a hold of her, she convinced her boulderer friend to go out to a bar.

Selene glared at her best friend and hoped that Logan could see her anger despite the dimness of the bar. "You could have at least told me that you signed those contracts! You're my best friend for crying out loud!" she hissed, grabbing her shot of vodka and downing it. "And to think that you told me that modeling wasn't your type of thing."

"I just signed with Reebok. It's no big deal," Logan said in a bored voice. "Besides, I need the income to travel and visit good bouldering sites outside of the United States of America." She ignored the irritated look on Selene's face.

"Is there anything else?" Selene asked through her gritted teeth.

The amber-eyed woman crossed her arms over her chest and appeared to be deep in thought. "Hmmm... I don't think I missed anything," she murmured, stroking her chin with her long fingers. "Oh yeah! Reebok's making me custom bouldering shoes." She waved the bartender over and asked for a refill. "Almost all my bouldering shoes are worn out and having custom shoes would do me a lot of good."

"That's not the point, Logan!"

The raven-haired woman let out a long sigh before eying her best friend seriously. "Then what is the point, Selene?" she asked, raising her voice to be heard over the blaring music. "The way you're breathing down my neck like this isn't really enough to make me understand what you're trying to get across." She nodded her thanks to the bartender after he refilled her drink.

Selene cursed and looked away from her best friend. "I don't like it that you told me that you weren't into the whole modeling thing, but ended up signing a contract anyway," she began. "I also don't like the fact that you signed the Reebok contract _and _signed a contract with Giorgio Armani behind my back." She raised her hand to keep Logan quiet. "Don't deny it! I had to ask one of the senior actresses in our television show to confirm it for me and she did. Lastly, why did it have to take nine months for you to tell me?"

"Are you my keeper?" Logan drawled.

"Not funny," Selene retorted, obviously fuming.

"I don't see the necessity to inform you of every single thing I do," Logan explained patiently. "Yes we're best friends, but seriously, you and I need some space. We can't always be together," she reiterated for probably the nth time since they both went to college. "Now can you stop harping at me? It's starting to give me a headache and I have half the mind to leave you here if you choose to continue."

Selene shook her head. "You've changed, you know."

Logan raised her eyebrows at this and gulped down her drink. "Everyone changes."

* * *

_A month after the incident at the bar_

_

* * *

_

"I'm surprised that you actually dropped by to visit."

"I was in the area all right," Selene explained, leaning against the expansive studio's wall. She had just come from shooting the latest episode of their very popular and highly rated television show and decided to pay a visit to her equally famous best friend who was doing a shoot for Giorgio Armani. "Do they make you wear these suits all the time?" she asked.

Logan shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her attire. She had grown accustomed to wearing pressed collared shirts and slacks throughout college so it wasn't so hard for her to adjust to the clothing line she was made to wear. Right now, she was wearing a black pinstriped Italian suit. "Armani is famous for their suits," she pointed out. She crooked her finger at her best friend and led her to a quieter area of the studio. "Anyway, you wouldn't just drop by for any reason. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"I…" Selene hesitated. "I have a boyfriend."

There was an almost audible click as Logan's eyebrows furrowed. "Did I just hear right? Miss 'I'm never going to get a boyfriend because they'll just tie me down' actually has a boyfriend?" she asked in a slightly sarcastic tone. "Hmpphh… Well, I'm surprised, but I guess we're even already."

"Even?"

"You probably kept this to yourself for a few months now," Logan pointed out. "The media usually gets wind of these things and I sort of figured that you were seeing someone from them."

Selene face flushed into a deep crimson color. "It's only been a month!" she retorted. "Sure he's been courting me months before that, but we've only been officially together since the beginning of this month." She glanced over her shoulder and let out a relieved sigh when no one else in the studio seemed to hear their conversation. The media was right about her seeing someone, but they didn't know yet that they were officially together.

Logan raised one elegant eyebrow and eyed the auburn-haired actress. "So who is it?"

"Damien Burdock."

"Your co-star?" It figures anyway that her first boyfriend would be from the set. "He's a notorious player," Logan muttered, remembering all the scandals related to the aspiring actor.

"He's not!" Selene argued back, cheeks flushing a deep crimson color in anger.

Logan shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. Do what you want. I have no right to involve myself in your relationships anyway," she said, the interest in her voice completely gone.

"I want you to meet him."

Logan's amber eyes narrowed at the prospect of meeting the notorious actor. "Sorry. I'm fully booked for the next two months or so. I'm leaving for Europe next week to compete in this bouldering tournament and after that Reebok's going to keep me busy." There was truth to the things she said, but her ulterior motive was of course to avoid meeting with her best friend's boyfriend.

"A simple no could have been enough, Logan," Selene said angrily. "You didn't have to hide it under your work!"

"Even if I said no, you would have made a fuss and demand an explanation," Logan retorted, fixing the lapel of her blazer. "I just made things easier and gave you the explanation anyway." She glanced at her watch. "My break's almost up. Is there anything else you want to tell me?" she coldly asked.

"Damien invited me to go base-jumping with him."

"Are you stupid?" Logan demanded, raising her voice at her best friend for the first time in several years. "Do you know how dangerous that is?" Her anger was prevalent in her tone of voice and the look on her face. "I highly doubt that boyfriend of yours is an experienced base-jumper."

"You take that back!" Selene finally shouted back, her control on her temper breaking.

"I won't Selene," Logan said firmly. "You're risking your life."

"And bouldering doesn't risk your life?" Selene interjected.

"It's definitely different especially since I've been at it for years," the raven-haired woman argued back. "One wrong move in base-jumping and it's either you slam against whatever structure you're jumping off or your parachute doesn't deploy properly." Logan crossed her arms over her chest and icily glared at her friend. "I always thought that you had a good head on you Selene," she admitted. "But you definitely went off track with this decision."

"You're so fucking annoying!" Selene spat out, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Fine then! Be that way! So much for being my best friend, huh?" She scrabbled for something in her bag and threw a blue and silver friendship bracelet at her supposed friend. "I made that for you during my breaks on the set," she said bitterly. "Don't even bother returning it. I'm just going to end up throwing it away." With that, she stomped out of the studio.

Logan eyed the bracelet in her hand and stuffed it into her pocket. "It's not only me who has changed," she murmured.

* * *

_Two weeks later_

_

* * *

_

"Congratulations for winning the bouldering event!"

Logan smiled and shook her head. "Thanks," she told the group of well-wishers. A few days ago, she participated in the European version of the X-games, which was a relatively new tournament in the field. Among the thirty or so competitors who signed up for the bouldering event, Logan was the one who emerged at the top. These tournament were somewhat fun for her, but she still loved the thrill of bouldering using the natural structures of rock faces and the like. The bouldering walls were definitely safer because there was a landing pad she could fall on if ever she lost her footing.

"How many medals do you have under your belt now?" Another man asked, offering his hand for a handshake.

"About five I think," Logan replied, shaking the man's hand and nodding her head in greeting to another group. "I'm hoping to double the number by the end of two to three years," she said. She was enjoying herself at the exclusive party the Armani management had invited her to attend. Years ago, she would have shied away at the prospect of attending any social functions.

The man she was talking to let out a hearty laugh. "I like your confidence, Logan," he said. "By the way, do you drive cars?"

"I know how to drive one, but I don't own one," Logan replied, straightening the collar of her shirt. "Why are you asking?"

The man motioned some of his colleagues towards them. "We're representing the BMW Corporation, and I'm head of the marketing team," the man explained then began introducing his co-workers. "One of our department's latest projects is to put a new face on our marketing campaign in an attempt to market our new line of cars. We were wondering if you would be willing to come meet with us and discuss a possible partnership with us."

Logan let out a low whistle. She was impressed that one of the most prestigious car brands was coming to her despite her lowly background. Sure, she was signed with Reebok and Armani, but she wasn't exactly earning much. There was also the fact that compared to other models, she was probably ranked among the C class ones. It still caused confusion within her whenever she thought about how she'd become so popular. "I suppose I could make time and meet with you. I happen to like the products of BMW."

The man and his colleagues beamed. "It's great to hear that from you especially," he replied, bringing out his PDA. "Now what day would you be most likely free?" He nodded to two of his underlings who took out miniature planners from their pockets. "If possible, we would like you to come over to our branch in-"

"Is there a Logan Walsh in the room?" A woman's voice called from the other side of the room. "Miss Logan Walsh! You've got an urgent phone call!"

The amber-eyed woman looked surprised for a few moments before adopting a nonchalant face. She politely excused herself from her conversation with the BMW people and cut across the crowd. "I'm Logan Walsh," she told the petite woman who looked like she worked in the hotel's reception.

"Please follow me." She led the boulderer out of the function room and into the lobby. While Logan waited at the front of the reception counter, the woman went around and brought out a telephone. "Here you are."

Logan nodded her head. "Thanks," she said then lifted the receiver to her ear. "Hello?" Her eyes widened in recognition. "Mom?" She shook her head and immediately switched to Japanese. "Slow down! I can hardly understand what you're saying!" she ordered, frowning at how flustered her mother sounded on the phone. "Come home? I can't come home now! I have work to do!" she managed to put in before her mother said something that literally drained the blood from her face. "You're lying," Logan whispered.

"Miss?" The receptionist peered at the suddenly pale face of the professional boulderer. "Are you alright?" she asked, noticing that the young woman was gripping the edge of the counter so tightly that her knuckles were dead white.

Logan swallowed hard. "I'm leaving right now," she told her mother and hastily dropped the phone. To the receptionist she asked, "Do you know the numbers of the airline companies?"

"Yes," the receptionist replied. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"I don't care what airline it is, just get me a flight back to California as soon as possible!" Logan snapped, amber orbs darkening with each word. "I'm packing my things. Call me at my room to inform me of the details." Without further ado, she strode towards the elevators, leaving a bewildered receptionist behind to do her bidding.

* * *

_Two days later_

_

* * *

_

"Is she coming?" A man with graying black hair and of pale complexion asked the woman who sat next to him on the pew.

"I'm not sure." His companion also had black hair, but had the distinct characteristics of an Asian woman. "When I traced her to that hotel she was staying at, Aki-chan said that she was leaving right away after giving her the news."

The man sighed. He was a pureblooded Irishman, but there wasn't a hint of an Irish accent in his speech since he was brought up in the United States of America. "It takes more than half a day to travel from Europe to Los Angeles, but I would have expected her to arrive by now," he admitted. "You did tell her, Yuki?"

Yuki Walsh formerly known as Yuki Soryu was a pretty Japanese woman who didn't look her age. She was often mistaken to be a thirty-year old woman, but in she was in fact in her late forties already. "But Liam, you never know what type of flight Aki-chan booked. Maybe because of her haste, she booked herself in a flight that had many stopovers or needed her to switch flights," she told her husband. They had met each other when Yuki had become an exchange student at the university Liam graduated from. Soon after he graduated, he followed Yuki back to Japan, asked for her hand in marriage and went back to California to raise a family.

Liam Walsh shook his head. "Don't worry too much about her," he advised his wife. "I'm sure she'll get here." Just as stared towards the front of the large hall, the large wooden doors behind them swung open and in came a disheveled and heavily breathing Logan Walsh. He quickly got to his feet and strode over to his only daughter. "Aki? Where have you been and why do you look like that?"

Logan shook her head and continued to breathe heavily to refill her deprived lungs. "I just arrived a few hours ago," she told her father, clutching on to his arm to keep herself up. "I got a cab to bring me home, but when I told him to wait for me he ended up leaving. There wasn't any car that I could drive at home so I rode your mountain bike here."

"You rode your father's bike all the way here?" Yuki gasped. The distance from their home was a good twelve miles and from the looks of it, her daughter was in a hurry to get to her destination. "You must be exhausted! Let me get you a glass of water!"

"No mom!" Logan almost shouted. "I…" she paused. "I need to see…" she murmured.

"But," Yuki tried, but stopped when her husband placed a hand on her shoulder.

Straightening her shoulders, Logan slowly walked down the aisle. The stares she was getting from the people seated on the pews on either side of the aisle were those of shock, hate and pity. _Is it really my fault?_ she thought to herself. _Did I cause this?_ Those once piercing amber orbs darkened as a deep sadness overwhelmed her being. The simple white coffin in front of the altar was open. Logan steeled herself, stepped up to it and looked inside. The tears that had formed in her eyes suddenly dried as she gripped the edge of the coffin to support her suddenly wobbly knees. _Selene… why did you have to go like this? _It was as if she was sleeping especially with the white sheet that covered her body from the neck down. Logan knew though what the sheet was for. The injuries Selene had sustained from her fatal base-jumping attempt were too horrendous to see.

"Logan… don't blame yourself."

The half-Irish woman looked up and stared into the weary faces of Selene's parents. Both their eyes were red from crying and it was easy to see that both of them had little sleep for the past few days. "Aunt Jeanne… how can you say that?" Logan whispered. "This wouldn't have happened if I had not been so wrapped up with my career."

"We warned her too when she told us that she wanted to try base-jumping," Keith Richards told his deceased daughter's best friend. "She was just really stubborn," he chuckled, covering his suddenly tearful eyes with one hand. "She picked that trait up from you."

"Why then?" Logan demanded. "Why did she do it?"

Jeanne smiled sadly at the boulderer and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "She thought that…" she paused and swiped at the tears flowing down from her eyes. "She thought that… it would bring her closer to you somehow."

That was when the tears overflowed for the first and last time.

* * *

_Present – Bokuto Station_

_

* * *

_

The small meeting room was quiet as they were all quite preoccupied with the somber look that graced Aki's face. Even Saori who was ecstatic to meet the famous Logan Walsh was feeling down after hearing the depressing events that overtook Aki's life.

"So the reason why you left California was because of your guilt," Natsumi clarified. She had originally thought that Aki left because of the increased attention she was getting. "You still think that you're the one who caused her death."

Aki sighed and rubbed her eyes wearily. "You're stating the obvious," she muttered, gazing back at the seven pairs of eyes that gave off different emotions. "If I had been more considerate of her feelings," she began, hands clenching into fists on her lap. "If had not provoked her to do something so dangerous, she wouldn't have done something so stupid."

"But still-" Natsumi tried to reason out with the raven-haired boulderer.

"Stop already," Aki interjected with a shake of her head. "I've already accepted that the fault is mine," she informed them. "What made the situation worse was Damien's masquerading in front of the media about Selene's death. He's acting all heartbroken, but he's in fact doing his fake mourning to get attention." There was a hint of venom in her voice as she talked about the actor whom Selene dated.

Saori nodded her head to what Aki said. "It's true. He's not on the news that much anymore, but back when Selene Richards just passed away, he was always being interviewed about how he felt," she told her friends. "Well, if he was really faking it, I will admit that he's quite the actor for pulling it off so well."

"There's more to it," Aki added. "If it was just the guilt, I would have been able to stay in California and move on somehow," she told them, she frowned and looked away.

"What else happened?" Miyuki asked.

"No way…" Saori breathed out. "So the rumors were true?" she said to no one in particular.

"Spit it out already!" Natsumi and Yoriko chorused.

Saori backed away from her senpais and began explaining. "There were rumors going around that Logan Walsh assaulted Damien Burdock during a minor red carpet event they were both attending. Some witnesses say that Logan lashed out for no reason, but others say that Damien said quite a number of tasteless things about her and his deceased girlfriend."

"Bingo!" Aki muttered. "For a very rare moment, I lost my temper and pummeled him," she said, pride and guilt not evident in her voice as she spoke. "A simple punch really. It was just a straight jab that happened to land on his jaw," she explained. "The way he acted though made it look like a haymaker delivered by Manny Pacquiao."

"Manny who?" Aoi asked, not really sure where the conversation was going.

"Huh? Aoi-chan, you don't know who Manny Pacquiao is?" Natsumi demanded. "He's a famous boxer who's said to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world today! He literally destroys his opponents if they take him for granted!" Unlike her other friends, Natsumi was quite updated with the fighting sports world.

Miyuki shook her head at how riled up her partner was getting. "He must have said really nasty things for you to punch him," she told Aki. "And I'm guessing that he blew it up and is trying to put up a case against you."

Aki nodded. "I did apologize a day later, which he accepted but then he began filing an assault case against me, which my parents got wind of," she explained. "When they told me about it, my mom suggested that I head to Japan and lay low for a while until the situation dies down." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against her seat. "He can't file a case against me if I'm out of the territory of America," she added.

"Quite right," the chief of Bokuto Station agreed. "Anyway, we would be glad to give you assistance especially since there's a horde of media men outside of the station."

"Just my luck," Aki muttered, slipping her hand into her jeans' pocket and pulling out a black Nokia N76 cellphone. "Do you have a backdoor that I could use?" She got to her feet and walked towards the window. Pulling down one blind, she frowned hard at the sight of men and women with cameras and microphones in their hands. "At this rate, I won't be able to keep my low profile as a café waitress," she muttered, looking surprised as the phone in her hand began to ring and vibrate incessantly. "Sorry," she told the others then placed the phone against her ear. "Logan here," she greeted in English, eyes suddenly widening. "Dad? Are you really here in Japan?" she asked, shaking her head and putting a hand on the receiver. "Sorry, but my dad's down there at the front of the station. Could someone bring him up?"

While Aoi and Yoriko exited the meeting room to do the request of Aki, Natsumi and Miyuki exchanged interested glances with each other. It was quite unusual that the father of Logan Walsh was suddenly in the area. They were also intrigued about meeting the Irish father of Aki. "Are you alright?" Natsumi asked the tall raven-haired woman who was suddenly pacing along the floor.

Aki shook her head. "I'm a bit nervous since my dad doesn't just show up without notice," she told them. "I'm surprised that he was able to find me so easily especially since I didn't tell Auntie Mitsuko where I was going this morning." Her pacing quickened.

"Hoy! Calm down," Natsumi ordered the slightly older woman, walking towards her and placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "Whatever it is that your father has to tell you, I'm sure it's something that you can handle." She flashed her a thumbs-up sign and winked at her. "And if it's too much for you, Miyuki and I will back you up." She jerked her head at her partner. "Right Miyuki?"

"Of course," Miyuki replied, bowing to the boulderer.

"Here he is," Yoriko announced as she and Aoi ushered in Aki's father. The police officers in the room could easily see that Aki took after her father a lot. They knew that the height of Aki came from her father because they assumed that since Mitsuko Soryu wasn't that tall, her younger sister was probably of the same height. Liam Walsh was a broad shouldered man and powerfully built as seen with the sinewy muscle that covered his body. The Irishman was a few inches over six feet, had short black hair and a handsome yet somewhat aged face. The most striking in his appearance was his gray-green eyes.

"Dad…" Aki breathed out, rubbing the back of her neck as her father stepped into the room. "What are you doing here?" she asked, going over to her father and briefly hugging him.

The Irishman chuckled. "Don't I have the right to see my daughter?" he said in English, patting Aki's head with his hand then taking a seat on the couch. "Besides, there are things we need to talk about," Liam Walsh added, raising his eyebrows at the police officers around him. "I didn't realize that you befriended so many police officers within the first few days of your stay here," he switched to Japanese, much to the surprise and pleasure of the Bokuto station police officers.

Aki grinned and began to introduce her father to the policemen and women. "Natsumi-san and Miyuki-san helped me out the other day when a bunch of paparazzi raided Auntie Mitsuko's café to find me," she explained, gesturing at the brown-haired and blue-haired women in the room. "Anyway dad, what do you want to talk about?"

Liam took out a large brown envelope and handed it to his daughter. "Your endorsers know about what happened and understand why you've fled to Japan," he explained, watching as Aki tore open the envelope. "They've all agreed to give you a break and it's up to you when you want to go back to the states. They did say though that the next time you decide to run off, you should give them a call first."

Aki laughed as she folded up the contents of the envelope and placed it back inside. "Yeah, it said so in their letters. They could have just called me on my cellphone, but then again they put all the details of what they want me to do while I'm in Japan in their letters." She let out a long sigh. "Looks like I'll have to quit my job at the café and look for model work."

"Model work?" Miyuki questioned.

"Yeah," Aki replied. "My endorsers feel that this is a good opportunity for me to increase my status. It looks like that they've already set my first job with their branches here in the country. Photo shoots most likely," she explained, shaking her head. "Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Liam nodded his head. "The assault charges Burdock filed against you."

Aki groaned. "What now?"

"It's not as bad as you think," Liam assured his daughter. "Of course, you'll most likely be asked to pay a fine when you get back to America, but Burdock has it worse."

"Huh?"

"His fame as an actor is rapidly dropping due to a particular video spreading like wildfire on the internet," Liam explained with a chuckle. "Would you like to see?" he asked everyone, reaching into his pocket and taking out his iPhone. "I specifically downloaded it and put it in my phone to show you." After quickly accessing the video, he placed the small device on the table and let the police officers and his daughter look down at its screen. As they expected, both Aki and Damien Burdock were in the video.

"_What's with the cold shoulder treatment, Logan?" _Damien's voice resonated from the small device. The handsome actor and the boulderer had fake smiles pasted onto their faces as they conversed with each other at the red carpet event.

Aki raised her eyebrows. "Someone leaked the video of that on the internet?"

"Shhhh!" Saori shushed her. "I want to hear!"

Aki shook her head but decided to keep quiet anyway.

"_I know what you've been saying about Selene." _The Aki in the video said.

"_Oh? And what things have you been hearing?"_

"_Don't play innocent. All along, you've been playing with Selene so that you could raise your popularity. Selene had always been more popular than you in that television show and you thought that if you struck up a relationship with her, you'd ride along to get the fame."_

"_More popular? Oh please! She wasn't at all popular. Sure she had a pretty face, but that's just about it!" _Damien let out. _"She needed more help with her acting skills and I was close to convincing the producers to cutting her out of the show so that they could give me a bigger role."_

"_If you were just playing her, why were you grieving her death on television then?" _Aki demanded.

Damien laughed. _"It's the game of publicity, dear woman," _he replied. _"Besides, she was rather stupid to have agreed to go base-jumping so easily. Not to mention that it was so irritatingly sweet and brave of her to jump off that cliff first even when the wind was coming in hard." _Suddenly, the video showed Aki lash out and land a hard punch at the actor's jaw, which knocked him down onto the floor.

The camera zoomed in on the deeply angered face of the boulderer. _"Take that back bastard."_ Then the video blacked out just as hordes of paparazzi crowded around Aki and Damien.

"So there you have it," Liam announced, taking back the iPhone and placing it back in his pocket. "You might have to pay a fine for punching him, but he's probably going to lose his job because of the things he said about Selene."

Saori nodded. "Not to mention he'll have a hard time looking for other jobs because of the video. By the way, who took the video and posted it on the internet?" she asked.

Aki looked over at her father and raised an inquiring eyebrow at him.

"One of your most loyal and persistent paparazzi, Aki," Liam replied. "Actually, he's part of the group of media people downstairs."

"No way," Aki muttered, running her fingers through her hair. "Rick followed me all the way here?" She knew the young man for a few years now. He was the first of the paparazzi to follow her around although compared to other photographers, he did not invade her personal space so often and always politely asked before taking any pictures of her.

"Sooner or later, you're going to have to give the media what they want," Liam advised his daughter. "If you keep avoiding them like this, they're going to be coming up with their own versions of why you came here to Japan."

The raven-haired woman sighed. "Alright, alright," she let out, taking her shades and putting them back on. "I'll go see to those media people downstairs."

"In the meantime," Liam said, looking at the chief of the Bokuto Station traffic department. "Would you be able to arrange a security detail for Aki? Since she's agreed to going back to her modeling career, she'll have hordes of fans, photographers and reporters chasing after her."

The chief nodded his head. "That's easy enough to handle," he said, smoothing his mustache with his fingers. "Tsujimoto, Kobayakawa."

"Hai!" Both women replied.

"From today on, you're going to be the security detail of Logan Walsh for the duration of her stay here in Japan," the chief ordered. "You'll still be called to do certain cases but as for patrol, you'll be replaced."

"Kachou! Are you sure you have the authority to give that order?" Miyuki asked.

"Well, I do have to bring it up with the higher authorities, but it's most likely that they'll put the two of you in the job since you both have the most experience and the best work backgrounds," the chief explained. "Besides, I doubt that Aki-san would feel comfortable working with strangers."

Aki nodded her head to this. "I'd feel better if I had a security detail I was already familiar with." She straightened her clothes and waved goodbye to the police officers. "Well, I'm off to rendezvous with the paparazzi down below." To her dad, she said, "You probably shouldn't get involved, dad."

"I have a flight to catch anyway," Liam replied, looking at his watch. "I told my taxi to wait downstairs by the garages." He got to his feet and gathered his only daughter in his arms. "Make sure to give us a call now and then," he told her.

The raven-haired woman nodded her head and returned the hug of her father. "I'll do that, dad. Give mom a hug for me when you get back home." She pecked her father on the cheek and watched him briskly exit the room. "So are you technically on duty now since you've been assigned to me?" she asked both Natsumi and Miyuki.

With a nod of approval from the chief, both Miyuki and Natsumi walked to either side of Aki and escorted her out of the room. "What would you like for us to do while you talk with the media people?" Miyuki asked.

"Basically make them keep their distance," Aki replied. "I'll be allowing them to ask questions and take pictures of me, but I'm hoping it won't get troublesome." She led them down the stairs and across the main lobby of the station. From inside, she could already see a number of men and women waiting outside for her. "Although, with your help, I think things will go smoothly." She gave both women a smile.

Natsumi laughed. "Don't worry Aki-san! With Miyuki and me as your security detail, you won't have anything to worry about!" She pumped her fist in the air and put on a serious face as they opened the doors for Aki and let her stride outside to meet the sudden flashing of cameras and yelling.

"Natsumi," Aki called out as she pushed her shades up the bridge of her nose.

"Yes?"

"Drop the honorifics alright?" Aki ordered, approaching the crowd of media people who were kept back by the metal barricades the Bokuto Police had set up. She stopped a few feet away from the barricades and searched the crowd for the familiar blonde hair of her ever so loyal paparazzi. Sure enough, the blonde-haired man was at the front of the crowd with his DLSR camera hanging around his neck and with his associates. "Looks like you're the one I have to thank," Aki said in English as she reached over and shook hands with the young man. "I didn't even realize that you were around that time to take the video."

Rick grinned and firmly clasped Aki's hands. "Hey, it got me money and most of all it was the best thing to do after all the nasty things he said and did," he replied, blinking as the onslaught of white flashes blinded him. "I know it's not exactly the right thing to ask, but would you mind if I snapped some pictures?"

Aki nodded and stepped away. "Go ahead," she said, looking at the rest of the media people and clearing her throat. "Alright, I'll entertain your questions now," she told the mostly Japanese crowd in their native tongue.

"Walsh-san!" one female reporter called out. "Will you be staying long in Japan?"

"For an indefinite period," Aki replied. "I need a break from my career back in America. As of the moment, I can't seem to find a simple job to support me for the duration of my stay especially with all of you tailing me," she jokingly accused the group, which resulted in laughter. "I'll be trying my hand at being a magazine and commercial model here in Japan."

"What about your bouldering career?" a male photographer shouted.

"I heard that there's a tournament coming up in a few months, so I'll see if I could join it."

"Walsh-san! Can you tell us about the assault charges filed against you and about the death of Selene Richards?"

Aki looked a bit grim as she answered the question for the benefit of the reporters. "As many of you know, I lost my temper recently and ended up punching Damien Burdock," she began then gave them a knowing smile. "Although, if you've seen the video on the internet, I'm sure you'd understand the reasons behind my actions," she added. "As for the death of Selene, I admit that it's taking me quite some time to accept the death of my best friend."

"There's been talk of the 'Under the Starlight' television show casting you," one reporter pointed out.

"If there has been talk about it, I certainly haven't heard of it," Aki replied.

Another woman waved her hand in the air to get the raven-haired woman's attention. "But if it were indeed true, would you be interested in trying for an acting career."

Aki's brow wrinkled as she thought of her answer. "I'm not exactly trained in the theater arts, but I suppose I could give it a try if it's going to be a small role," she told them, glancing at her watch and looking behind her to see that Miyuki had driven her mini patrol car towards them. "I'm sorry, but I believe I've answered enough questions for today." She bowed to the crowd, turned on her heel and walked towards the side of the police car.

"So where to?" Miyuki asked when Aki boarded the car.

"A car rental place," Aki replied. "If the two of you are going to be my security detail, it'd be best if you drove a less inconspicuous car."

Natsumi jumped into the passenger seat and strapped herself in. "Oohhhh! Let's rent a nice sports car!" she exclaimed as they drove out of the station.

"Who do you think I am? Bill Gates?" Aki muttered. "No sports car. Let's just get a nice looking sedan with extra dark window tint."

The brown-haired police officer twisted in her seat and pouted at the boulderer. "Awww you're no fun!"

"You're not supposed to be having fun at my expense," Aki retorted, smiling inwardly at how she missed bickering with someone her age. "The two of you should probably wear something else too while you're at it."

Miyuki nodded her head in agreement. "We'll tell the chief about it when we report back to the station later on."

"Alright. After we rent a car, let's go have something to eat. I'm kind of hungry," Aki told them.

"Oh no!" Natsumi shouted, causing Miyuki to momentarily lose control of the mini patrol car.

"Natsumi!" Miyuki scolded, shocked and annoyed at how loud her friend was. "What's wrong with you!"

"Turn the car around, Miyuki!"

Aki raised her eyebrows at this. "Whatever for?"

"Yoriko is going to eat all that delicious strawberry cheesecake!" Natsumi wailed, green eyes becoming watery at the thought of the cake being devoured by a laughing bespectacled police woman.

"Oh Natsumi…" Miyuki murmured, lightly banging her head against the steering wheel. "You're such a glutton."

Aki chuckled at this. "We can pass by at Auntie Mitsuko's café then. I'll buy you another kind of cake as an advance for your services."

Natsumi's eyes immediately sparkled at the prospect as she pumped her fist up in the air. "Yahoo! More free cake!"

"Natsumi! Behave yourself!" Miyuki scolded, reaching over and slapping her friend's muscled arm hard. This was definitely the start of something new and exciting. In a way, she was looking forward to a change of pace in their work.

* * *

_**Here's another update. I'm getting busier and busier by the minute and I'm really hoping to put up more chapters of this story. **_

_**Major Mike Powell III: Well, right now you're not the only reviewer anymore. Hahaha. Yeah, Natsumi's always been quite extreme, but that's what makes her such an interesting character to work with. As usual, thanks for the nice reviews. It really helps and keeps me motivated to keep writing. **_

_**Aohana21: Glad that you've put up with reading my other stories too. Hehe. I suggest that you try watching a few episodes of this anime so that you at least get an idea of how the characters are. **_

_**Next chapter: First Day on the Job**_


	4. First Day on the Job

_Chapter 4: First Day on the Job_

"Natsumi!" Miyuki roughly shook her partner. "Come on, it's not at all good if we show up late for our latest job!" she scolded, this time taking Natsumi's shoulders in her hands and using all her strength to shake her. "Wake up!" she shouted into the brunette's ear, which finally made those forest green orbs snap wide open.

"Gahhh!" Natsumi exclaimed, cupping her nearly deaf ear with one hand. "Miyuki! You don't have to shout like that! Any louder or longer and my ear drum would have probably exploded!" she complained, groggily sitting up. The strap of her hanging sleeveless gray shirt fell off her shoulder as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

The blue-haired mechanic braced her fists against her hips and glared at her best friend. "If you just learned how to wake up on time, I wouldn't be doing this every single day!" she pointed out, walking to the window and pulling up the blinds to admit the early morning light. "Now come on! Go take a shower already! Our new uniforms just arrived!" She hastily pulled Natsumi out of her bed and pushed her towards the bathroom.

"All right already!" Natsumi grumbled as she stepped into the bathroom to freshen up.

"If you stay too long in there, I'm going to ask the staff downstairs to cut the heat!" Miyuki threatened, the only reply she got was the sound of the shower. "Might as well make breakfast then," she murmured to herself. Striding into the kitchen, she began to pull an assortment of ingredients from the refrigerator and began to cook up a simple but filling breakfast for both Natsumi and her. By the time she set the steaming food on the table, Natsumi was already out of the shower.

"Oh great!" Natsumi exclaimed as she eyed the food before her. "I rarely get to have a homemade breakfast because I'd either have to do it myself and botch it up or I'm already running late for work so I just go for take-out." The strongwoman of Bokuto Station eased herself into a chair and began to gobble down the food on her plate.

Miyuki gave her partner a scolding look. "Natsumi, don't eat too fast! You might get indigestion!" she warned, but was promptly ignored.

"You're the one who's telling me to hurry up," Natsumi accused in between bites of her food. "Now just leave me be! We'll be off to work in no time at all!" Sure enough, Natsumi finished her breakfast in record time and quickly took over in washing the dishes. "So where are our new uniforms?" she called to Miyuki who had gone to the hall.

"Right here," Miyuki replied, bringing a small duffel bag in each hand. "I took a peek inside and I'm going to say that it's a relief that the station issued us these especially because of the cold weather." She tossed one bag to her partner while she took the remaining one to her own room to change. "It's typical for security detail to wear, but I still like it anyway."

Wasting no time, Natsumi hurried into her own room and emptied the contents of the bag onto her bed. There were four simple long-sleeved white polo shirts, three pairs of black slacks and two black blazers. "Hmmm… wonder what brand these clothes are," Natsumi murmured, taking one shirt and airing it out. "No way!" Natsumi yelled, forest green orbs literally bulging when she saw the tag. "We're going to wear Armani?!"

"I'm just as surprised as you are!" Miyuki came into her room already dressed in her attire. She buttoned down the blazer and puffed out the collar of her polo shirt as she waited for Natsumi to get dressed. "I have to admit that I'm also pleased about it. I didn't expect to be wearing something so… stylish."

"And expensive too!" Natsumi added, quickly getting into her clothes. Miyuki took over to straighten out her shirt's collar and the lapel of her blazer as Natsumi hastily ran a comb through her straight chocolate brown hair. "Anyway, we should pick up the car Aki picked out at the rental place."

"Actually, there have been a few changes," Miyuki told her partner. "The Tokyo branch of Armani called and said that they have already sent the car to the underground garage of our apartment." She and Natsumi grabbed their wallets and ID's before heading out of their apartment and into an empty elevator. "Apparently, it's one of their company cars and they'd rather not have their model spend her money just to rent a car."

Natsumi let out a long whistle as the elevator doors slid open to admit them to the underground garage. "So Armani is lending Aki their company car for her to use during her stay here in Japan?"

Miyuki nodded. "That's supposedly the story." She walked over to the garage attendant and claimed the keys. "So which car is it?"

Natsumi raised a confused eyebrow. "Huh? So it isn't a Lexus anymore?" she asked, watching as Miyuki clicked the remote and listened for the familiar beeping of the automatic locking system of the car. Several feet away from the pair, a sleek and shiny silver sedan's headlights flashed in response to Miyuki's action. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised since it did come from Armani," she admitted, grinning at how Miyuki's jaw literally dropped at the sight.

The silver car was the top of the line 2009 Hyundai Genesis, which had just recently won an award for being the car of the year in North America. Not only did it have a state of the art safety system, but it also had an elegant interior with the best gadgets. What Miyuki was probably marveling at was the new 4.6 V8 engine the car sported. "It's just amazing!" Miyuki exclaimed, running towards the car and sliding her hands over its hood. "It a top of the line car!"

Natsumi shook her head. "Miyuki stop drooling over it already! We have to get going and besides, don't you think you're hurting the feelings of _Today?"_ she was referring to Miyuki's mini patrol car.

"Oh, _Today _will always be my baby, but I can't help but gush over nice cars!" Miyuki pointed out, opening the door and slipping into the driver's seat. "The interior is great too and it's well equipped with the best on-the-road gadgets," she observed. With the ease of a skilled driver, she backed the car out of the parking space and out of the underground garage.

"So we're headed to Aki's apartment right?" Natsumi asked as she strapped herself in.

The blue-haired mechanical genius nodded her head. "At a different apartment though. This time Reebok sponsored a better and more secure apartment for Aki since she'll be constantly in the limelight here in Japan," Miyuki explained, smoothly driving down the slightly crowded roads towards the more posh area of Bokuto district. "She certainly is a celebrity now that the media has released their reports about her."

The highly athletic police officer stretched her arms over her head. "But don't you think that Aki is quite cool? She's not stuck up like other celebrities and in my opinion she's just like any other ordinary person," Natsumi shared, rolling down the window and sticking her head out to gape at the posh neighborhood of the district. "Those endorsers of hers certainly don't hesitate to splurge on her," she remarked just as Miyuki pulled up beside a chic whitewashed apartment complex.

"Well this is the place," Miyuki announced the turned off the car engines. "You go up and pick up Aki, Natsumi," she ordered. "I'll keep watch down here."

"Hai!" Natsumi replied, briskly saluting her partner then jogging up the driveway. Just as she got to the door, she turned around and asked, "What floor is she on?"

Miyuki released a long sigh. "Penthouse, Natsumi," she called back, getting out of the car and leaning against it.

"Oh ok!" Quickly making her way inside and into the elevator, Natsumi softly hummed a simple tune as she waited for the elevator to take her to the top of the apartment building. As expected, there was only one door at the top floor. She raised her fist and loudly knocked on the door. "Aki-san? We're here to accompany you to your shoot!" Natsumi called out from the hallway.

The sound of footsteps approaching filled the air as the door swung open to reveal a newly bathed raven-haired woman in simple jeans, a long sleeved off-white shirt, blue sports jacket, sneakers and shades. Piercing amber orbs lit up from behind those shades as she bent over slightly to bow a greeting to the differently attired police officer. "Morning," she greeted in English before switching back to Japanese. "Shall we get going?"

Natsumi gave her current charge a warm smile as she stepped aside to let the taller woman exit her room. "Sorry, but I was just wondering," she began, sheepishly looking at Aki.

"Yes?"

"Don't you think your outfit is too casual?" Natsumi asked, giving the half-Japanese woman an onceover. "You are going to a photo shoot right? I kind of expected you to be in something more formal," she admitted.

"Well, if it were a photo shoot with Armani, then I would have dressed in something more presentable," Aki chuckled. "I'm doing work with Reebok today, so it's most likely that they're going to make me wear their sports gear for the shoot. Wearing something nice today wouldn't be necessary," she explained. "Now as for you, I noticed that you're wearing Armani," she commented with a smile. "My endorsers are certainly kinder and more generous these days." This time a deep sadness filled her eyes.

Even if this was only the third time for her to see Aki looking so sad, Natsumi had decided for herself that she did not like it at all. The older woman was more suited to smile or at the least be cool and collected. "Hey! Just because they gave Miyuki and me nice outfits, doesn't mean you should attach it to the death of Selene-san."

Aki raised a surprised eyebrow at her escort. "You see through me too easily," she murmured. "Somehow, you remind me of Selene in that way." She smiled at Natsumi and lightly patted her on the shoulder. "Anyway, I appreciate the effort of trying to cheer me up. We all take risks in our lives," Aki said. "Life would be boring if people didn't take any risks, right?" she asked Natsumi.

"Well yeah since you put it that way," Natsumi agreed.

The amber-eyed woman smiled back at her. "So you see? You shouldn't worry about me being overly depressed about Selene. I admit that her death still weighs heavily in my heart, but it was her choice to go base-jumping and I did try to dissuade her beforehand." She let out a long sigh as she and Natsumi stepped outside. "She took the risk... just as I risk my life every time I go bouldering with virtually no safety equipment."

"Kind of like when Miyuki and I do our work as police officers," Natsumi added. "Listen Aki. If you ever need to talk to someone, Miyuki and I will be glad to listen to you." They walked down the driveway towards the parked car. "Girls need to vent out to their fellow girl friends right?"

Aki deeply chuckled. "Quite right," she admitted. "I'll be sure to remember that offer." She halted just a foot away from the car and proceeded to greet Miyuki. "Here's the address of the studio Reebok reserved for the photo shoot." She handed the mechanic a scrap of paper with a sheepish smile on her face. "I was half asleep last night when they called me up and gave me the details," she explained, a look of apology on her face. "I hope you can understand my handwriting."

Miyuki laughed as she held the scrap of paper up to her face and squinted at it. "Fortunately, it's legible enough to understand," she told her, laughing some more when Aki looked relieved. "Anyway, hop in the car. We can't afford to make you late, right?" The blue-haired woman got into the driver's seat and started the engines. "Don't worry," she assured Aki who sat at the back. "Natsumi and I know the district like the back of our hands."

"I'm not surprised," Aki replied, making herself more comfortable at the back. "By the way, could I ask a favor?"

Natsumi twisted in her seat to look at their charge. "What is it?"

"Do you think we could pass by a fast food restaurant?"Aki asked. "I haven't had the chance to go grocery shopping yet since I just moved in." She rubbed the back of her head. "Things have been happening so quickly that I can't even make my own schedule let alone decide what to do next."

"What food do you want then?" Miyuki asked without taking her eyes off the road.

Aki paused for a moment and appeared to be deep in thought. "Any nearby takoyaki stands?"

"Takoyaki?" Natsumi asked incredulously. "That's not really a proper breakfast for you!"

"It's filling at least," Aki pointed out."And I actually miss eating them. Mom used to make them all the time as snacks for me back when I was still a kid," she added. Yuki Soryu had brought over most of her knowledge of Japanese culinary to California when she had moved there after getting married to Liam. "Besides, it's not messy to eat and I could eat it on the way."

"Oh Natsumi… stop scolding Aki already!" Miyuki admonished her partner when the strongwoman of Bokuto station opened her mouth to speak. "You have even worse eating habits than her! Not to mention you're a bad alcoholic!"

"Miyuki! You're making me look bad to Aki!" Natsumi complained, lightly punching the blue-haired woman on the arm. "But anyway, turn on that street," she pointed to a narrow street on the right. "There's a good takoyaki stand there. The old man should be making the first batch about now."

"Yokai," Miyuki playfully replied, skillfully maneuvering the Hyundai Genesis into the narrow street and eventually halting beside the simple wooden takoyaki stand. Sure enough, the old man who manned the stand was making his first batch of takoyaki.

Natsumi rolled down the window, stuck her head out and cheerfully greeted the bald man. "Oyaji! Do you have any cooked yet?" she asked, exchanging grins with the slightly stooping man.

"You're quite early today Natsumi-chan," he said, carefully flipping the takoyaki balls. "So how many will it be? The usual three?"

Aki rolled down her window and looked outside. "She only orders three pieces?" she inquired, looking a bit surprised.

"Oh she orders three alright," the old man chuckled. "Three dozen actually," he clarified with another hearty chuckle. "Usually, I have the three dozen ready by three in the afternoon because that's around the time Natsumi comes by on her mini bike."

Miyuki glowered at her partner. "So this is where you went whenever you took your mini bike out to do patrol!" she guessed, wrapping her arm around Natsumi's neck and giving her a noogie with her fist. "You've been shirking your work!"

"Owww! Miyuki! That hurts!" Natsumi cried out, flailing her arms. "I do need a break once in a while to eat you know!" she pointed out, escaping Miyuki's hold and covering her head with her arms. "And I was really doing patrol!"

Miyuki rolled her eyes. "Yeah, while you were riding your bike in a haphazard way I bet," she retorted, ceasing her attack on Natsumi and crossing her arms over her chest. "No wonder you haven't been saving a lot of money these days."

Natsumi flinched at how Miyuki had easily guessed. She let out a forced chuckle anyway. "I'm a growing woman after all! I need to give my body its needs so that I could become stronger!"

"Anyway Oyaji," Aki interrupted. "How many do you have ready so far?"

"I've got around a dozen and a half ready right now," the old man replied.

"I'll take all of that," Aki decided, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her wallet.

"You're going to eat all of that Aki?" Miyuki gave the raven-haired woman a shocked look.

Aki shook her head. "I'll eat six of them and the rest is for you and Natsumi to share," she replied, handing a few bills to the old man and accepting the change. "I don't usually eat that much for breakfast anyway," she explained, watching as the old man expertly speared ball after ball of takoyaki into a container and sprinkling it with an assortment of toppings. "Usually, I just eat a bowl of cereal or if I'm going to go bouldering, I stock up on food with lots of carbohydrates."

"Do you drink protein shakes, Aki?" Natsumi asked, the talk on physical fitness picking her interest.

Aki nodded her head. "I used to make and drink them all the time back when I was building up on muscle to compete in the X-Games bouldering event." She reached out and took the offered container of takoyaki from the old man. "Need some recipes? I could teach you quite a few if you like."

"That would be great!" Natsumi exclaimed, getting a whiff of the steaming takoyaki. "Ohhh… that takoyaki smells heavenly! Pass some over!"

Miyuki once again reached over and slapped the arm of her partner hard. "Natsumi! Be polite! You have to let Aki eat first before you actually get your share!" she scolded. The three women thanked the takoyaki stand owner then drove the car back on to the main road to continue their trip to their destination.

"It's really alright," Aki assured Miyuki, popping one piping hot ball into her mouth and passing it to the front. "I really meant to share it anyway." She fanned her open mouth to ease the heat. "It's my treat by the way."

"Are you sure?" Miyuki demanded, feeling a little bit embarrassed at the kind gesture of their ward. "Natsumi and I are certainly financially stable enough to buy our own food, you know," she pointed out. She didn't want to be a burden to the amber-eyed woman, but it would be hard to do that when her partner and best friend never declined a chance to be given something for free no matter how demeaning it may seem.

Aki shook her head as she leaned forward to spear another ball of takoyaki. "It's quite alright," she assured Miyuki some more. "You are my escorts right?" She popped the ball into her mouth and carefully chewed it to avoid burning herself. "I don't want to be some stuck-up celebrity, you know. It was never in my personality anyway."

"But we became your friends first before we became your escorts," Natsumi pointed out, gulping down her share of the takoyaki.

Miyuki nodded her head in agreement. "We may be on duty, but we want you to treat us as your friends." She spotted the seven-storey building and drove the car into the adjacent parking lot. "It may not seem so professional, but it's the least that we can do to make your stay here in Japan more comfortable." They all got out of the car and walked over to the entrance.

The security guard asked for some identification to verify their identities after which he let them into the deceptively simple building. "Is it just me or is this building kind of weird?" Natsumi asked as the three of them walked down a narrow hallway.

Aki nodded her head. "I would have expected to walk into a lobby of some sort and not this hall." She took the lead and pushed at the heavy metal doors at the end of the path. Her amber orbs widened in delighted surprise at the sight that greeted her from beyond the door. The seven-storey building was in fact a rather large warehouse converted into an indoor-climbing facility. Four of the six walls had walls riddled with rock holds set up against it. There were more than twelve courses to pick from ranging from easy to those that require great technicality and of great difficulty. Any rock climber or boulderer be it professional, enthusiast or hobbyist would see this particular facility as perfect for training or plain leisure.

"Wow! This is huge!" Miyuki exclaimed, taking in her surroundings. The three women walked forward, heading towards the middle of the expansive room where several men and women were setting up the equipment needed for the shoot.

"Ah Walsh-san!" A woman with brown hair and red highlights trotted over to them. "Glad that you could make it!" She briskly bowed to the women and offered her hand to the tall athlete. "I'm Mayumi," she introduced herself as she exchanged handshakes with the group. "I'm the marketing department head of the Reebok branch here in Japan." The woman with highlights in her hair led the three woman past the set and towards a long table with snacks and refreshments.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Aki told the department head sincerely. "I hope I'm not late." She shook her head at the offered coffee and opted for a bottle of Gatorade. She never took anything with caffeine prior to any bouldering activity.

"Actually, you're early." Mayumi leaned around Aki and looked at Miyuki and Natsumi. "Your security detail?" she guessed.

"Yeah," Aki replied, introducing her escorts. "Anyway, what's the agenda for todays shoot?" she asked, doubting that it had nothing to do with indoor-climbing.

As she fixed herself a cup of coffee, Mayumi began her explanation. "Reebok just came up with some new training apparel specifically for outdoor and cross-training purposes," she began, leading them to a large set-up cubicle filled with Reebok merchandise and an improvised make-up department. "The higher ups thought that you would be the person for the job since you're an avid boulderer." She grabbed a box and handed it to Aki. "Moreover, we're in a partnership with this indoor-climbing facility. They allowed us to use this facility in order to advertise their grand opening to the public. Basically, we're hitting two birds with one stone," she told them, smiling as Aki opened the box and lifted out a pair of customized bouldering shoes. "That's the latest pair we developed. It's lightweight but not as prone to wear and tear."

"It sure looks like it," Aki pointed out, obviously pleased with the gift. "You even made it in my favorite colors," she added, as she carefully looked over the blue and silver design. "So what should I get into first and would it be alright if Natsumi-san and Miyuki-san stayed on set with me?"

"Your first outfit for the shoot is right over there," Mayumi gestured at the knee length shorts and the sleeveless dry-fit shirt hanging on a clothes rack. "You could get dressed in that cubicle and you should probably warm up since we're going to be taking shots of you scaling the wall." She walked off to attend to the concerns of her subordinates.

"Shall I move aside and let you dress?" Miyuki asked politely, hands clasped in front of her.

Aki shook her head. "Nah. You could talk to me while I dress up," she said, not at all looking embarrassed even if Miyuki flushed to a deep color of red. "Why are you embarrassed? We're both women anyway and I'm sure you've seen your co-policewomen in their bare essentials, right?" She laughed as she grabbed the sports outfit and brought it over to the cubicle. "Besides, it's as if I'm going to strip down to nothing, you know."

The mechanic smiled. "I should have known from that rock-climbing accident at the Bokuto mall that you're actually quite a bold person," Miyuki mused, watching as the built athlete began to strip out of her clothing, first discarding her jacket then pulling off her shirt and jeans. "Ahhh…" she breathed out as she looked at the toned body of the boulderer. "You're even more built than Natsumi."

The raven-haired woman pulled on the clothes and checked the fit of it at a nearby full-length mirror. "Ah really?" Aki asked, sitting down on a chair to put on a pair of socks and pull on her brand new shoes. "I still find it hard to believe that she can actually lift cars," she remarked, leaning down to tie the laces.

"She doesn't look like it, but she really works out a lot," Miyuki told her, tucking a stray strand of her blue hair behind an ear. "You should come by our apartment one time. It's literally littered with all sorts of exercise equipment."

"I'm guessing you're living in a precarious situation all the time because of the equipment," Aki guessed, grabbing a nearby chalk bag and hooking it to a belt strap at the back of her shorts.

Miyuki chuckled. "You said it. I can't even count the number of times I've either tripped or stubbed a part of my body on Natsumi's equipment." She watched as the taller woman gathered her hair and tied it into a loose ponytail with a few long fringes falling to the side of her face.

"Speaking of Natsumi," Aki said, walking out of the dressing cubicle. "Where is she?" She scanned her peripheral and spotted the dark-haired police officer sulking a few feet away from one particular rock-climbing wall. "Is she alright?" Aki asked, tipping her head to the side as she observed the sulking woman.

Miyuki sighed, immediately realizing what was wrong with her partner. "Did she tell you about her previous relationship?"

Aki shook her head. "What about it?" She began to do her warm-up stretches. She first did a variety of stretches for her arms before working her way down to her legs.

"Her boyfriend was a former captain of the Toyoma mountain police and he was an expert mountain climber," Miyuki explained, watching as Natsumi walked closer to the wall and reached out to touch a hold on the wall. "Back when they were still dating, he would take her out to go rock-climbing."

"So what happened?" Aki asked in a huff as she twisted her body. "Did they break up?"

Miyuki shook her head. "They were engaged until he had an accident on a particular rescue mission out on the mountains," she explained, pressing a hand to her forehead. "He died while trying to save another climber."

Aki was silent as she finished the rest of her stretches. "So that was the person she was talking about," she murmured.

"Hmmm?" Miyuki looked at the amber-orbed woman. "Aki?" she called out, but went unheard as the older woman walked off towards her partner.

Meanwhile, Natsumi gripped the handhold on the wall as depressing thoughts filled her head. It was still hard to believe that it has been half a year since Tokairin had died. If she closed her eyes, she could easily picture Shouji's kind and smiling face. She swiped at her suddenly teary eyes with her sleeved arm. _Baka! Don't cry!_ She grit her teeth and furiously wiped the tears away just as a hand settled on her shoulder. She turned her head and looked up into a pair of gentle amber eyes.

"Hoy…" Aki carefully reached out and wiped a lone tear off Natsumi's face with her fingers. "Did I ever mention that the only things that'll make me cry are people who cry?" She gave the police officer a gentle smile.

"Aki?"

The model shook her head. "I'm not joking if that's what you're thinking," she said firmly, falling silent for a few moments and looking at the climbing wall. "Miyuki told me," she said softly, looking away. "I never thought that the person you lost happened to be your boyfriend." Aki shook her head. "I'm sorry."

Natsumi put up her hands in surprise. "W-What are you apologizing for?" she stuttered.

Aki looked up at the ceiling and let out a long breath. "I inadvertently triggered you to become depressed because of this shoot." She crossed her muscled arms over her chest and looked at her escort apologetically.

"Eh? It's not your fault, Aki-chan!" Natsumi blurted out, clamping her lips shut after realizing what she just said.

Aki looked at the younger woman quizzically. "Did you… just call me Aki-chan?" she asked.

"Gomen!" Natsumi hurriedly bowed. "I know you asked that I drop the honorifics, but it just came out!" she explained quickly.

Aki chuckled in amusement. "Yeah… I know asked you that, but now that I've heard you call me that I wouldn't really mind hearing it from you or even Miyuki." She walked over to another wall, which had one particularly long handhold horizontally positioned on it. "Aki-chan's fine," she assured Natsumi. "We are friends after all right?" With that said, Aki reached up, grabbed onto the handhold with both hands and began to do pull-ups. "Natsumi?"

"Yes?"

Aki let out a grunt as she did a complete pull-up, the muscles on her arms rippling from the effort. "You can talk to me whenever you want," she told her. "I'll listen." She sucked in a deep breath of air as she continued to do pull-ups. "But no more crying, ok?" When she reached fifty pull-ups, she dropped down and stretched her tingling arms. "Anyway, want to do a little wager with me?"

"You mean a bet?" Natsumi asked.

Aki nodded her head and smiled. "I still find it hard to believe that you're really that strong even if Miyuki has been telling me about it," she started. "I'd like to see for myself how strong you are if it's alright with you," she continued this time with a hint of a smirk on her face.

"Ehhh? Are you mocking me?" Natsumi asked, giving her ward an annoyed look. "What do you propose then?" She unknowingly began to limber up in preparation for whatever challenge Aki was going to impose on her.

Aki grinned and rubbed her chin in thought. "Well, since I already did fifty pull-ups, how about you try to do twenty one-handed pull-ups with me?" she decided, flexing the fingers on her right hand.

Natsumi threw her head back in raucous laughter. "Just twenty?" she inquired. "This is going to be a cinch!" She pulled off her blazer and walked over to the same hold Aki had used earlier. "Yosh! So I do twenty one-handed pull-ups right?" She hastily rolled up her sleeves and wound up her right arm.

"Yup, but there's one more thing," Aki added.

"What?"

The raven-haired woman stepped towards the wall and picked another hold. She jumped up, grabbed the hold and held on before looking down at Natsumi. "You're going to have to compete against me. It's boring if you don't have any competition or pressure right?" She could almost see a vein pop out on Natsumi's forehead. "Jump up already."

Scowling deeply, the police officer jumped up and grabbed the handhold. "Ready when you are," Natsumi told her ward.

"Hoy… the two of you are acting like kids," Miyuki called out to them. She let out a long sigh when both women simply ignored her and began to do the one-handed pull-ups.

"Miyuki!" Natsumi shouted in between grunts. "Make sure no one cheats!" Her unused hand was clenched tightly into a fist as she struggled to lift her own body weight. "Hoy Aki! You better not be cheating!" she yelled, beads of sweat beginning to form on her forehead.

Aki laughed. "I'm a very honorable person and if that's your way of saying that you're giving up or you need a handicap, then you should just say it straight," she teased as they both went into the last five pull-ups. "Getting tired already?"

"Shut up!" Natsumi shouted, not even caring when a number of people walked over to the wall to see what the ruckus was about. "Don't act like you're such a hotshot!" She could feel the lactic acid building inside her body and her fingers felt like they were going to lose its grip at any moment. _Just one more!_ Natsumi thought, taking in a deep breath and gathering her remaining strength to lift her body. Before she could even manage to complete the last one, her fingers finally gave way and lost its grip all together. She landed hard on her behind as Miyuki tried to contain her laughter.

Aki let go of the handhold and landed lightly on the ground. She made her way beside the seated Natsumi and squatted down to get a better look at her. "Anything hurt?" she asked, a tinge of worry prevalent in her voice.

Natsumi groaned and rubbed her lower back. "Just my pride," she muttered, shooting an icy glare at her partner who immediately stopped laughing.

"Sorry. I got you too worked up."

The brunette shook her head. "I should be the one apologizing for getting so worked up about something quite silly," she told Aki with a sheepish smile. She carefully got back to her feet and dusted her pants off. "Anyway, I think they're calling you over to do make-up on you."

Aki looked over her shoulder and saw the make-up crew waving at her. "I'm not one who likes make-up, but I probably should get over with it already." She pulled off her hair tie and shook out her hair. "If you're hungry, help yourself at the buffet table," she informed her escorts before making her way to the make-up crew.

"So…" Miyuki looked at her partner with the corners of her eyes. "Did you learn anything from that challenge?" she asked.

"Hell yeah!" Natsumi muttered, cheeks turning into a shade of crimson. "Aki-chan is definitely strong and she may even be stronger than me in some aspects." Her forest green eyes twinkled in admiration for the older woman. "She has this tendency to go on a mean-streak, but she's a really nice person in general."

Miyuki could feel a vein on her forehead twitching. "I was expecting something more profound when I asked you what you learned from your contest with Aki."

"Huh?" Natsumi was apparently oblivious to the expectations of her partner.

The mechanic sighed. "Go roll down your sleeves already and look a bit more presentable," Miyuki scolded. "And don't raid the buffet table! Aki just treated you to takoyaki and you even ate my share!"

"Awwww! Miyuki!"

* * *

"Whew! I'm glad that's over!" Aki remarked as she rubbed her sore arm muscles. For almost three hours, she had been scaling a variety of walls to let the Reebok team get enough shots of her sporting their newest gear. She had a total of six costume changes that day and thankfully the team also took shots of her that didn't need the climbing walls. "It's been a while since I did my last photo shoot and it's only now that I remembered how tiring it is." She slicked back her damp hair with her fingers. She had just come out of the facility's shower room.

"Hey Walsh-san! Thanks for your hard work today!" Mayumi said as she walked up to the three women. "We got a lot of good shots on the reel today and we just sent the initial set to my seniors. Looks like they're impressed," she informed them cheerfully. "They're hopeful that having you endorse our products will increase sales here in Japan."

Aki smiled down at the petite marketing head. "You're welcome," she replied. "If you have any other projects you'd like to have me on, just call me up." She nodded her thanks to Miyuki who passed her blue jacket to her.

Mayumi rubbed her chin in thought. "Hmmm… that might not be for another few months although Reebok Japan has already expressed becoming one of the major sponsors of the Asia X-Games that will be held here." The woman propped her fist in her opened palm and grinned. "Don't worry though, we'll be providing you with all the gear you'll need when you compete."

The raven-haired woman laughed. "I look forward to it. Reebok has never disappointed me anyway." She said her goodbyes to the marketing head and the rest of the staff before following Miyuki and Natsumi out of the facility. "By the way, I noticed that the buffet table was significantly depleted." She shot a look at the would-be culprit who immediately avoided eye contact.

"I warned her to control herself, but she couldn't resist the free food," Miyuki told Aki. "You shouldn't have told her to help herself."

"Hey! I was hungry alright! You know that I have to eat after I do something strenuous!" Natsumi defended as the three of them entered the outdoor parking lot. She crossly got into the car and let out a huff. "I've been bullied the whole day today," she muttered.

Aki settled herself in the backseat as Miyuki started the engines and drove out of the parking lot. She set her elbow on the armrest and propped her chin onto her fist. _Bullied… huh? _she thought silently as memories of a young Selene being bullied by a group of boys and girls came into her mind.

It was a somewhat funny incident and rather shallow since they were both still kids at that time. A lot of the kids back then picked on Selene because she was rather soft spoken. Aki was waiting at the entrance of the school at the end of the day when she realized that Selene was unusually late. Worried, she searched the school grounds for her friend until she finally found her cornered at one secluded area of the playground by a group of spoiled rich kids.

Selene's hair was disheveled and there was a noticeable red mark on her cheek where she had obviously been hit. There weren't any teachers around at that time and the longer Aki kept to herself, the more the bullies made Selene cry. Finally, the group seemed to tire of Selene and backed off, but one boy made one last ditch attempt by kicking at the gravel on the ground. Selene was hit multiple times and some of the rocks opened cuts on her exposed flesh while one hit her squarely on forehead.

That was the last straw for Aki and she angrily strode towards that particular boy and pummeled him with her fists. The other bullies were dumbfounded and didn't have the courage in them to gang up on an upperclassman. They ran away when the raven-haired girl finished the beating and allowed the bruised boy to escape. Aki had carried her crying and injured best friend to the clinic where the school nurse called up principal and Selene's parents.

As expected, Aki got into trouble the following morning for the parents of the boy she had beaten went to school to demand that Aki be punished. There was a conference that resembled a trial that same afternoon where the defendants' parents insisted that Aki was the one at fault. Liam and Yuki Walsh defended their daughter by explaining that Aki had never been one to use violence, but they could only stare at their daughter in shock when she spoke.

"_This is becoming annoying,"_ the younger Aki informed everyone. _"I beat him up,"_ she said in a straight voice. _"And I'll be glad to do that again if I catch him bullying and hurting a girl especially if it's my best friend." _If the adults thought that that was the end of it, Aki had one last thing to say, which almost resulted in a fistfight between Aki's father and the boy's father. _"My parents always said that you should treat others like you want to be treated yourself. I can't help but wonder if your son was brought up in such a way that he could kick gravel at a defenseless girl."_

In the end, the boy was suspended for a week and his accomplices were all herded to attend some lectures set up by the guidance counselors. As for Aki, she had not been left off the hook. The school officials admired her courage, but they could not look over the fact that she had used physical means to deal with the bully. She was assigned under the tutelage of the school's janitor for a week. After that, nobody ever dared to bully Selene again. They all feared that they would meet the same fate that the boy had.

"Hello? Aki-chan?" Natsumi called her out of her thoughts.

"Hmmm?" Aki blinked a few times and saw Natsumi staring at her from the front seat. "Sorry," she apologized. "I just got lost in thought." She turned to look outside the window, not realizing that there was a small smile tugged at her lips.

Natsumi narrowed her eyes at their ward. "What were you thinking about? Why has it gotten you smiling?" she asked, curious in spite of herself.

Aki shook her head. "I was just remembering that time I beat up a boy when he picked on Selene," she explained, chuckling deeply. "I got punished for it and I got myself a reputation."

"No way," Natsumi let out. "You were a violent kid back then?"

"Hey! That was the first time I ever beat up someone, ok?" Aki retorted. "Sheesh! You make me sound like I'm some blood-thirsty beast that lives off violence!" Her half-lidded eyes showed that she was getting a little bit sleepy. "Anyway, can we pass by Auntie Mitsuko's café?" she asked as Miyuki entered the highway. "I've got to pick up a few things and talk to her about some stuff."

Suddenly, Miyuki's cellphone began to ring. "Who could be calling me at this time?" she wondered, pulling the cellphone out of her blazer's pocket and putting it against her ear. "Hello?"

"_Miyuki! Where are you and Natsumi?"_ Yoriko asked from the other line.

"We're about to enter the industrial sector of the district," Miyuki replied, pinning the phone to her shoulder so that she could keep both hands on the steering wheel. "What's up?"

"_A bank was just robbed and the culprit escaped on foot. He should be in your area though."_

Natsumi took the phone from Miyuki. "How does he look like and can you tell us anything about his whereabouts?" she asked, putting the phone on loudspeaker.

"_The helicopter last spotted him running into a small neighborhood before losing sight of him. The police have surrounded the neighborhood to block off his escape, but we feel that he might break into the homes of the citizens and take someone hostage,"_ Yoriko informed them.

"We're on our way then, but…" Miyuki glanced over her shoulder and locked eyes with a slightly confused Aki. "Aki-chan is still with us, but I guess we could park the car somewhere while we help with the operation."

"_Yokai._ _I just informed the police on the scene that you'll be in the area," _Yoriko said with enthusiasm. _"Nakajima-kun should be there as well. He and the others brought your gear with them along with Natsumi's mini-bike."_

"Thanks Yoriko!" Natsumi hung up on their friend and gave Miyuki a determined look. "Let's go catch a robber!" she whooped.

Miyuki could only smile as she exited the highway and drove the car to the neighborhood as quickly as she could. They skid to a stop at the mouth of a narrow two-way street in order to block of any possible escape while a mini-patrol car and a policeman on a motorcycle drove towards them.

"Hoy! Tsujimoto! Kobayakawa!" Nakajima yelled to them before cruising to a stop in front of them. "Helping out with the operation?" he asked, signaling the two police officers in the mini-patrol car to unload the equipment at the back.

"Hey we may be bodyguards at the moment, but we're still police officers!" Natsumi declared, thudding her fist against her chest. She walked to the back of the patrol car and hauled out her mini-bike and helmet. "Miyuki, I'll go in and search with this! Will you go on foot?" she carried the bike over to the mouth of the street and put the earpiece and mike on.

"I'll ride along with Nakajima-kun," Miyuki replied, motioning for Natsumi to come talk to her by the Hyundai Genesis. They both approached the side of the car and waited as Aki rolled down the window. "Sorry Aki-chan, we have to help out with this robbery case. He's in this neighborhood somewhere and we fear that he might break into one of the houses and harm somebody."

Aki nodded her head. "I'll stay here I suppose," she told them. "I don't want to get in the way."

Both Miyuki and Natsumi nodded. "Keep the door locked," Miyuki advised before hopping onto Nakajima's motorcycle. "Natsumi, you enter from this street! Nakajima-kun and I will enter from the opposite end!" She and the biker drove off as Natsumi strapped on her helmet.

"Be careful," Aki told her escort as the brunette straddled her mini-bike.

Natsumi grinned. "I'll be alright!" she assured her charge before zooming off. "Miyuki! I'm turning onto a street named Tamaki. It's an uphill climb and it looks a bit doubtful that the robber would go this way," she talked into the mike by her mouth. "Have the residents been told to lock up?"

"_The news have broadcasted it so far and the police have gone to some of the homes," _Miyuki replied. _"Nakajima and I are searching the other side of the neighborhood. So far, all is quiet." _

"Damn! Where the hell is he?" Natsumi cursed. "I'll contact you if I get a lead. Over and out." The police officer braked hard and set her foot on the ground as she scanned her surroundings. "Completely empty," she muttered before spotting a young girl standing outside the gate of one house. Feeling curious and worried, Natsumi drove over to the girl. "Are you alright? It's not safe outside right now," she told her.

The girl looked up into Natsumi's eyes and pointed at the house. "There's someone in there with my mommy," she told the police woman.

"Huh? Are you sure it's not your daddy or a visitor?" Natsumi asked, feeling a bit skeptical about the situation she was in.

The girl shook her head. "I don't have a daddy and mommy isn't friendly with men these days."

"So you're saying it's a man who's in there?" Natsumi demanded, seeing the girl nod in confirmation. "Damn it!" Natsumi cursed, twisting the mike towards her lips and speaking into it. "Miyuki! I found him! He's inside this little girl's house!"

"_What?!"_

"He probably has the mother hostage by now. I need you to get here right away!"

"_I'll be there in a minute!" _

Natsumi turned off the engine off and leaned the bike against the wall. "Hey little girl, how long has it been since you saw the man enter your house?" She knelt down on the ground to be at the same eye level with the girl.

The girl thought about it. "When I arrived a five minutes ago, I was about to open the gate when I saw a man pushing his way through my mother at the door."

"So it hasn't been that long then," Natsumi deduced. "He's getting desperate now." She heard the familiar roar of Nakajima's bike and pulled the girl aside. "This is the place," she informed her partner. "What should we do?"

Miyuki crept towards the gate and peeked around the wall. "It looks quiet, but I just saw the curtain move. He must be wary, but since he's not making any moves yet let's assume that he thinks he's safe for now." She gazed at the little girl. "Right now, we have to bring this girl to a safe place." She patted the little girl's head and switched her attention to Nakajima. "Nakajima-kun, can you take her out of the neighborhood?"

"Kobayakawa!" Nakajima let out worriedly. He wasn't so sure that he should leave the two police officers alone to deal with an armed robber.

Miyuki shook her head and gave the tall man an assuring smile. "We'll be fine. Natsumi and I have done this kind of thing so many times." She bent down, scooped the little girl in her arms and set her in front of Nakajima's lap on the motorcycle seat. "Besides, we're at an advantage here."

"How is that?" Natsumi and Nakajima chorused.

Miyuki sighed. "Natsumi and I are technically off-duty and not in uniform," she explained. "I have a feeling that the robber thinks that Natsumi and I are just regular businesswomen. We need to use this opportunity to strike before he does any harm to the mother." She reached into the hidden pocket inside her blazer and gave Natsumi an automatic handgun. "Go on now Nakajima-kun. If he spots you with us, he'll know that we're with the police."

The biker gave each of the women one last worried look before riding off with the little girl on his motorcycle. Now, Miyuki and Natsumi took the time to load their weapons and hide them in their blazers. "How are we going in?" Natsumi asked.

Miyuki remained silent as she observed the small two-floor house. "Honestly, I'm not really sure," she admitted. "I'm reluctant to do anything because the robber might do something unexpected."

Natsumi shrugged. "We could always pose as your regular door-to-door saleswomen," she joked and followed it up with a nervous chuckle. "What?" she demanded when Miyuki gave her an unreadable look. "I was just joking!"

The blue-haired mechanic gave her partner a knowing smile.

* * *

_This better work._ Natsumi took a deep breath and briskly knocked on the door. As they expected, it was the strange man who opened the door. "Good afternoon!" Natsumi said as cheerfully as she could and in the most girly voice she could muster. "We have a sale on the latest high-powered miniature bikes and you look like the adventurous type sir!" She cringed inwardly at how perky she sounded. Why did she have to be the one to do this?

The man had messy black hair and was unshaven. "Sorry. I'm not interested," he grunted and tried to close the door on Natsumi.

"But sir, you haven't even heard my pitch yet!" Natsumi hurriedly jammed her foot at the doorway to prevent the robber from closing the door. "Please sir, won't you hear me out?" She batted her eyelashes at the man and hoped that she was playing the part well.

Thankfully, the man agreed. "Alright. Make this quick," he grumbled, stepping aside to let Natsumi carry her mini-bike in. "Isn't that a Honda Motocompo?" He pointed at the mini-moped at Natsumi's feet.

"It sure is, but this is an enhanced model! The engine and frame have been improved basically!" Natsumi explained how she had tuned up her beloved mini-moped. "The original specs were a 2.5 horsepower engine and an automatic clutch transmission. Now, we beefed it up to a 4.0 horsepower system, strengthened the frame and installed a fail-safe system." Unknowing to the robber, Natsumi was subtly searching the house for the captive mother, whom she spotted sitting quietly on the couch. _Found you,_ Natsumi thought. "Good afternoon ma'am!" she greeted, catching the young mother by surprise. From her face alone, she knew that the woman was scared and nervous.

"G-Good morning," the mother greeted back.

Natsumi brought her attention back to the robber. "You have a beautiful wife, sir," she complimented, hoping to get him off-balance.

"Huh? O-Oh… yeah," the robber stuttered.

"Well sir, I'm sure I've picked your interest so far, but if you don't wish to buy it for yourself you could always get it as a present for your son."

"…yeah… that seems like a good idea," he said absentmindedly.

"What about you ma'am?" Natsumi asked the mother. "Would you be interested in buying a mini-moped for your son?" She had to play this right. She just needed a few seconds to catch the robber off balance before making a move to take him down.

The mother shook her head. "I wouldn't get him one, miss," she replied.

"Why is that?" Natsumi asked, crossing her arms over her chest and sneaking one hand into her blazer. She walked towards the mother and leaned towards her with a smile on her face. "It's a pretty safe ride," she assured her, subtly winking at the woman to let her know that she was there to help.

"Aside from the fact that I'm a worrywart, I have no son to begin with," she informed Natsumi without looking at the robber.

Natsumi straightened and fixed the robber with a glare. "Is that so? Are you really her husband, sir?" The man could only goggle at Natsumi for a few seconds before scrabbling at his waist for his handgun. "I don't think so!" Natsumi said calmly as she whipped out her gun and aimed it at the robber. "Hands above your head," she ordered, watching as the man's hands froze at his waist and slowly made its way up. "That's it."

"Mama?" a girl's voice called from the top of the stairs.

"Sweetie! Be a good girl and stay up there alright?" the mother ordered her daughter.

"I'm scared Mama!" The sound of footsteps going down the stairs filled the air.

"No! Stay there!" The mother shouted, momentarily distracting Natsumi from her work. Within seconds, the man whipped out his handgun and unleashed a barrage of bullets at the room.

"Damn it!" Natsumi shouted, diving behind the cover of the couch and pulling the mother with her to the floor. As soon as the bullet raid ended, Natsumi carefully got to her feet and saw that the robber had bolted. "Miyuki! He's escaping! Tell Nakajima and the others!"

"_Okay!" _

The brunette checked the mother and frowned. The woman had attained a bullet wound to her arm and was breathing heavily from shock. "Miyuki, call the paramedics. We've got an injured woman here." She quickly snatched a nearby tablecloth and briskly wrapped it around the bleeding area to stop her from losing any more blood. "Just stay still, okay? The medics are coming and I need to tail that robber before he hurts anyone else."

The mother weakly nodded her head and smiled. "Thank you."

Smiling back at the mother, Natsumi grabbed her mini-moped and ran outside of the house and through the opened gates. Hastily putting on her helmet and igniting the engines, she began scanning her surroundings in hopes of catching a glimpse of the escaping criminal. "Where the hell did you go?"

"Natsumi!" Miyuki shouted several yards away from her. She was running towards her partner from her stakeout point a few houses away. "The medics and Nakajima-kun are on their way," she informed her partner in a rushed breath. "I'm in direct contact with the surveillance helicopter right now and they say that the robber is headed north east of here."

"North east?" Natsumi murmured, hurriedly trying to find her bearings. "Okay! I'll try to catch up to him on this!" She patted the mini-moped beneath her.

Miyuki nodded. "I'll catch up with Nakajima-kun as soon as he gets here with the medics."

Natsumi briskly saluted her partner before throttling the gas. She knew that if she didn't hurry, the robber would either escape with the stolen money or break into another home in an attempt to buy him some time. "Give me an update," she spoke into the mike.

"_He's jumping fences right now, but he's still heading northeast,"_ Miyuki replied. _"Hurry Natsumi! At the speed he's moving, he'll make it out of the neighborhood!" _

"I'm doing my best!" Natsumi swerved onto a side street as she continued to scan her surroundings. She spotted movement on the next street and immediately turned there. "Hoy! Stop!" she yelled at the sprinting robber who turned back and unleashed another barrage of bullets at her. Nearly getting hit, Natsumi did some death-defying power slides and swerves with her mini-moped to avoid more incoming bullets. She followed the robber down two more streets and then finally on another street that was vaguely familiar to the police officer. The opposite end of the street opened to a busy street outside of the neighborhood and close by was a silver Hyundai Genesis car. "Damn it! Please don't hijack that car!" Natsumi muttered to herself as she pursued the robber.

Unfortunately, the man did stop beside the car and tried the doors. In the span of time he jiggled the car doors, Natsumi managed to catch up to him. "Hey!" she yelled. "Stop what you're do-" she stopped when the man suddenly aimed his gun at her.

"Annoying bitch! I'm going to kill you right now!" He cocked his gun, adjusted his aim and began to pull back the trigger when someone cleared his throat behind him. He twisted around to see who it was who had snuck up behind him, but before he could react, he felt a fist connect solidly with the side of his head in a rather heavy and strong punch. Within moments, he was knocked down onto the ground unconscious.

Natsumi's eyes widened in surprise as she watched the raven-haired Aki Walsh shake out her fist and let out a stream of curses. "Aki-chan!" she cried out, jumping off her moped and running towards her ward. "Are you alright?"

Aki smiled and cradled her sore fist. "Aside from my fist, I think I'm alright," she replied with a small smile, letting Natsumi lead her to the sidewalk and making her sit. "Sorry. I know I promised that I'd stay in the car, but I decided to go to that minimart on the other side of the street to get a drink."

Natsumi let out a relieved laugh. "I'm glad that you weren't in the car," she said. "That robber could have taken you hostage if he managed to break in. Not to mention, he probably would have shot me if you hadn't snuck up and knocked him out." She worriedly looked at Aki's hand. "It's starting to swell."

"Natsumi! Aki-chan!" Miyuki yelled as she jumped off from behind Nakajima's motorcycle and ran towards them. While the other police officers surrounded the area and restrained the robber, Miyuki got an update from her partner. "Thanks for your help, Aki-chan," she told the half-Irish woman. "We couldn't have done this without you. We should bring you to the hospital to have your hand checked," she suggested.

Aki nodded her head and let out a sigh. "We probably should especially since the Asia X-Games are coming up. I won't be able to compete if this turns out to be a serious injury." She let out a laugh and got to her feet.

"We better get going then. The news people are starting to come in," Natsumi told them, quickly ushering Aki to their car and driving away. Unknowing to the three women, the following day would bring them new surprises.

* * *

_**Next chapter: Another Offer**_


	5. Another Offer

_Chapter 5: Another Offer_

"Why do I always have to be the one to head upstairs to get her?" Natsumi mumbled to herself as she boarded the elevator that would take her to the penthouse unit of Aki. Nearly two months had gone by since the foreign athlete and model came to Japan to escape the condescending eyes of the media, the celebrities and the ordinary denizens of Aki's home country. Yes, there were still the occasional nasty rumors that went around, but the boulderer was quickly making a name for herself in her mother's country and getting rather popular. "Aki-san?" Natsumi called out as she knocked on the door. A few weeks ago, Aki gave Miyuki and Natsumi a copy of her apartment key.

"For emergency purposes," Aki told them back then. "And I think we've come to that time where the two of you can come and go into my home as you want."

The strongwoman of Bokuto Station let out a long breath and dug into her pocket for the spare key. "That girl might be too trusting for her own good," she muttered, unlocking the door and quietly going inside. Over the two months they've known each other, Miyuki and herself had been inside the fully-furnished and modern Japanese style penthouse. It was a typical penthouse arrangement with a large bedroom, a living room, dining room, bathroom and kitchen with the only difference being the cost of the furniture. Practically everything in the penthouse was branded or high-end though Aki always seemed indifferent about it. "Aki-san! We have to go to your appointment with KAGE Productions!"

Natsumi peeked into both the kitchen and the dining room and found it empty. It was strange that the main living area of the penthouse was unusually lacking activity. It was a little past nine in the morning and from what she and Miyuki knew, Aki was an early riser. "Aki-san?" Natsumi called, walking into the only place her ward could be. "Ahhhh…" Natsumi covered a smile forming on her face. Buried beneath the blankets was undoubtedly the figure of Aki Walsh. The only thing peeking out from underneath the blanket was Aki's foot. A wicked grin grew on Natsumi's face as she approached the bed. Positioning herself, Natsumi took a deep breath then shouted out her greeting. "Ohayou Aki-chan!"

The body beneath the blanket noticeably jerked then jolted up into a sitting position. Sleepy amber eyes blinked up at the grinning Natsumi before disappearing behind one of Aki's hands. "Natsumi…" Aki let out as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "You could have just shook me awake," she drily said.

Natsumi laughed and sat on the edge of the bed. "The last time I tried to shake you awake, you almost punched the living daylights out of me!" She braced her hands behind her on the bed and leaned back. "Why are you still in bed? We brought you home early last night."

The raven-haired woman sighed, threw off her blanket and swung her legs over the bed's edge. "It was already quite late when you brought me home," Aki reminded her bodyguard. "It was nearly twelve midnight by the time I entered the apartment." Aki and her escort attended a party sponsored by the organizers of the Asia X-Games the other night. Though her hand, which was injured in the robbery case she had gotten involved in earlier, was still healing, the boulderer decided to enter the tournament and managed to bag another gold medal.

"Didn't you sleep right away?"

The half-Irish woman shook her head. "I got a call from my mother and we ended up talking until maybe four in the morning," she replied. She stood up, stretched then glanced at the digital clock atop the bedside table. "It's already late," she remarked. "Are we supposed to be going somewhere today?"

Natsumi nodded her head, green eyes sparkling in the morning light. "You've got an appointment with KAGE Productions," she told her ward. "Miyuki's waiting downstairs in the car."

"KAGE Productions?" Aki walked over to her closet and randomly pulled out a pair of jeans and a three-fourths sleeved white polo. "Don't they do those soap operas and TV series?" She headed into the nearby bathroom and didn't even bother to close the door as she started to freshen up. Having taken a shower after she got home from the party and knowing that she was in a hurry, the model decided to freshen up in the quickest way possible.

"I think so," Natsumi replied from her seat on the bed. Both Miyuki and herself had come to the arrangement that when they were alone with Aki and not in public, they should act normally. "You probably know what you're getting yourself into, right?" she asked, watching Aki wash her face, brush her teeth and comb her sleep-tussled hair.

"You mean the rumors that I may be given a role in that 'Under the Starlight' school romance series?" Dressed in the attire she picked for the day, Aki came out of the bathroom and rummaged through a drawer for a pair of ankle-high socks. Despite being a model, Aki preferred sneakers to open-toe footwear particularly those with heels. In her opinion, she'd rather be stuck clinging on to a thin foothold on a rock-climbing wall than wear heels.

"Exactly," Natsumi answered back. She wasn't exactly sure of how she felt about the possibility that her charge would be involving herself in such a popular TV series. "I'm afraid that you're going to give Miyuki and me harder work if you decide to get involved. Your popularity will rise significantly."

Aki shrugged her shoulders as she pulled on her favorite pair of sneakers. "I don't plan on accepting a big role, Natsumi," she assured the younger woman. "Besides, I've agreed with my contractors that I would try going into a different mode of media."

"And television was your choice?"

"What else was there anyway?" Aki took one last look at herself in the mirror and motioned for Natsumi to follow her outside. "It's as if I could pick the radio. They want me to be seen and not heard only," she reminded her uniformed bodyguard.

Natsumi shook her head. "I don't think Miyuki is going to like this."

Aki chuckled. "How bad can it be?" she asked as she and Natsumi boarded the elevator.

* * *

"A school girl?" Aki asked, confusion lighting up in her amber eyes.

The woman in her early forties nodded her head and kept on smiling. Apparently, she was the person in-charge of the 'Under the Starlight' series. She was also one of the many reasons why the series had become so popular. Mayo Fujita was not only brilliant when it came to conceptualizing a story, but she was also quite smart when it came to marketing and financial matters. The success of the TV series was especially seen in KAGE Productions' decision to create a second season and add new characters to the current line-up.

Aki's brows furrowed as she struggled to come to terms with what was being asked of her. "Don't you think I'm a bit too old to play such a role?" she asked the older woman. "From what I know, the students in the series are supposed to be in their late teens."

Mayo laughed. "You don't look old if that's what you're trying to say."

"I'm not sure if I like what I'm hearing," Aki said in a very dry voice. The prospect of being dressed up in a schoolgirl uniform wasn't exactly appealing. She did after all grow up wearing civilian attire throughout her academic life.

The director and producer of the popular series raised her eyebrows at the half-Japanese woman. "What in particular doesn't appeal to you? Don't tell me it's because the role isn't such a small role like you expected." In fact, the role that was being offered to Aki was considered to be minor, but if she were to accept the role, she would be getting considerable screen time and dialogue.

Aki shook her head. "It's not that," she told the older woman. She took a deep breath and decided to get over with it. "I'm not really too sure about dressing up like a school girl." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the seat she was on. "You know, short skirts and stuff."

Mayo looked at the dark-haired woman as if she was crazy then laughed loudly enough that the secretary peeked into the office to check if there was anything wrong. "The skirts aren't that short!" she said breathily after she was done laughing. "You won't be wearing it all the time," she added in an amused voice. "So what do you say?"

The boulderer sighed. "I guess I'll accept," she decided, reaching over and shaking hands with the woman. While she signed the contract and other necessary documents, Mayo pulled out her cellphone and spoke to someone on the other line. She assumed that she was informing her colleagues of her decision. "So when do we start?"

Mayo got out of her seat and walked around her desk. "Actually, I was hoping that we could shoot your opening scene today." She took Kieran's arm and led her out of the office. "The crew is already working on the episode where your character makes her first appearance."

"Don't you think this is a bit too sudden? I haven't even been briefed on the script and who my character really is!" Still, she allowed herself to be led by the older woman. "Wait, I need to tell my two escorts where we're headed to!" Aki said when the female producer pushed her into her car.

Mayo nodded and called for her secretary. "Please tell Aki-san's escorts to meet us at Harada Senior High School." As the secretary scurried off to do her boss' bidding, Mayo got into the driver's seat and drove both the model and herself to the set. "Don't worry!" she assured the worried-looking woman. "It'll be a quick shoot! It'll probably just take two hours at most and that already includes the time it will take to brief you about the script and who your character is."

Aki wanted to argue some more, but decided that it wouldn't be of any use. Instead, she settled back into the passenger seat and wondered what she was going to do upon arriving at the set.

* * *

"Can you believe it? She just had Aki whisked away just like that!"

"Natsumi, don't get riled up!" Miyuki admonished her partner. They had gotten the news from Mayo Fujita's secretary that they should head to Harada Senior High School. It was only then that they realized that Aki accepted the offer to play a role in the TV series. Natsumi had every reason to be angry since as the escorts of Aki, they were expected to be with her for most of the day. "I heard that the producers of 'Under the Starlight' are hard pressed to finish shooting episodes and show it on TV."

The brunette shrugged. "The fans of the series are demanding I suppose."

"And there's been a lot of hype that Aki was going to be part of the series," Miyuki added, steering the Hyundai Genesis through less crowded roads. "The fans' excitement made KAGE Productions rush in getting Aki."

"But still!" Natsumi impatiently tapped her fingers against the armrest on the car door. "Even the professional actors and actresses are given time to prepare."

The blue-haired mechanic nodded her head. "I don't know why they're making her start so soon after signing the contract, but we'll be finding out soon enough." She drove the car towards a security checkpoint several meters away from the entrance of the high school. After telling the guard who they were, Miyuki drove the car into the school's premises and parked it in the designated parking area. Since it was the weekend, there weren't any students around except for a number of civilians who stood beyond the cordoned off area to watch.

"I could see why they're rushing to finish making these episodes," Natsumi remarked as she looked around the campus. She figured that the production company had made a deal with the high school, which involved using the premises during the weekend, holidays and if needed, after classes on weekdays. "It must be difficult to get work done when you're using a real high school as a set."

"Most likely," Miyuki replied, locking the car doors and walking to the front of the car. "Come on. Let's go look for Aki," she told her partner. While she and Natsumi headed inside the school building, she noticed that they were getting surprised and admiring looks from the various people on the set. "Why are they looking at us like that?" she asked Natsumi. Prior to entering the building, they were loaned a set of indoor shoes so that they would not dirty the school's floors.

"Well we do look rather intimidating in our suits." Natsumi gestured at their Armani suits and asked a passing man where they could find Mayo Fujita. "Looks like they're on the fourth floor," Natsumi said, leading her fellow police officer up the stairs. "I wonder if they're introducing Aki to her co-stars?" Before she could get an answer out of Miyuki, they spotted the producer down the hall.

"Ah there you are!" Mayo waved the women over to her and gestured at the classroom. "We were just about to shoot the next scene."

Miyuki and Natsumi looked at each other for a few seconds then leaned forward to look inside the classroom. There were roughly around twenty-five young actors and actresses dressed in school uniforms lounging around inside while the camera crew was readying their equipment. Everything seemed like it was in place except for one thing.

"Where's Aki?" Natsumi asked.

"Natsumi-san! Miyuki-san!" A young woman with pale brown hair and dark blue eyes approached the pair. "It's nice to see you two again!"

"Ehhh! Yuka-san!" Natsumi took a step back due to her surprise in seeing the young actress who was her one-time partner. Yuka Hasumi had been placed under Natsumi's care for a few days so that she could prepare for her policewoman role in a previous TV series. That had been nearly two years ago and the police series became a big hit. "I didn't know that you were also in this series!"

Yuka laughed and gestured at her school uniform. It wasn't a traditional sailor uniform like many school's required their female students to wear. The uniform was composed of a dark blue-black plaid skirt that reached just above the knee, a long sleeved collared white shirt, an off-white v-neck cotton vest worn on top of the shirt, calf-high black socks and a white pair of standard indoor shoes that students wore when they were inside the building. Partly concealed by the vest was a black tie with silver diagonal lines. It was a rather classy look despite it being a school uniform. "I just started last week," she told the police officers.

"Well you certainly also look good in a school uniform!" Miyuki complimented the actress, remembering that Yuka had gotten considerable attention and popularity when she donned the sexy police uniform in her previous TV series.

"Thanks! Now why are the two of you here?" Yuka eyed the clothes the two women were wearing. "And are those your new uniforms at Bokuto Station?"

Natsumi waved her hands in front of her as an answer to the actress' question. "They're not our new uniforms!" she said while laughing. "We've actually been hired to do a job," she explained.

"Escorts or bodyguards in other words," Miyuki told the actress with pale brown hair.

Yuka tilted her head to the side as if in deep thought. "So if you're here then, your employer is here as well," she guessed, seeing both women nod.

"Ah I see you know each other!" Mayo joined the group and smiled at the three women.

"Fujita-san! Aren't we going to start yet?" Yuka asked the producer.

"We are now," Mayo replied, pointing down the hall.

Miyuki put up her hand to cover a smile while Natsumi was less considerate by grinning outright. Their charge was walking towards them in the same uniform Yuka wore, but with a few modifications. Aki had her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and her tie was loose around her neck. The make-up team had put little make-up on the raven-haired girl, but the hairstylists had fixed Aki's hair to make her layered hairstyle more pronounced. The whole outfit was topped off with a pair of fake glasses Aki wore.

"Kawaii!" Natsumi let out suddenly then started to laugh.

"Not funny," Aki muttered as she approached her two bodyguards. "I feel very uncomfortable wearing such a thing!" She twisted in place to look at her outfit. "And I think this is the first time I've worn a skirt this short!" She looked a bit miserable, but there was a wry smile on her face. "Natsumi, if you keep laughing, I'm going to kick you," she threatened.

"Ah! Sorry Aki!" Natsumi grinned at the taller woman and managed to control her laughter. "It's just a treat to see you in a school girl uniform!" She swiped at her teary eyes and winked at their charge.

"I'm sure all of you had gone through the phase," Aki drawled, pushing the fake glasses up her nose and eying the actress with her two escorts. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name when Mayo-san introduced me to all of you."

"I'm Yuka Hasumi and it's a pleasure to meet you Walsh-san!" Yuka bowed respectfully to the other woman then gave her a friendly smile.

Aki returned both the bow and the smile then started explaining to the actress that she preferred that she be addressed without the honorifics. "Aki-san is fine if you insist," she told Yuka.

"Aki-san it is then," Yuka chirped. "How do you find your stay in Japan so far?"

"It's great! I'm really enjoying myself despite all the work I've been doing." The raven-haired woman submitted herself to a last minute primping session. "Anyway, what am I supposed to do in this scene?" she asked.

Mayo took over and began the explanation. "Your character, Haruka Souji, is attending the last class of her first day of senior year since she missed the first week of school. As you probably know, she's supposedly the cool but detached quiet girl who doesn't really talk to anybody." She gestured at Aki's piercings, which surprisingly were still kept on by the model. "In your culture, I suppose you could call her the 'emo' one."

"Great!" Aki drawled. "I'm guessing the writers already had me in mind when they were creating my character." She stood there with her arms crossed while her foot tapped against the floor. "So I just sit there?"

Mayo nodded. "Technically that's it you'll do for the first scene," she told the foreign woman. "Actually, we want you to look distant. You'll be sitting by the window so I suppose you could try gazing out the window or twirling your ball pen or something."

Aki nodded. "I'll see what I can do." She and Yuka walked into the classroom while Miyuki and Natsumi gave their charge a thumbs-up sign to encourage her.

"Over here Walsh-san!" One of the crew directed the tall woman to her designated seat by the window. The other actors and actresses were also getting into their seats. "Ah Walsh-san? All you have to do is be distant as Mayo-san said. Kato-san and Inoue-san will be discussing who will be representing the class in the upcoming sports meet." He gestured at a blond-haired man and a redheaded woman who were already positioned at the blackboard. "The camera will be focusing on you for a few seconds so just act distant."

"Hai Hai," Aki replied, making herself comfortable in her seat.

"Hoy! Aki! Stop scowling already!" Natsumi called from the sliding door.

The raven-haired girl frowned and rudely gestured at her escort before schooling her face to blankness. She was supposed to be distant right? Propping her elbow on her desk then leaning her chin on the back of her hand, she twisted in her seat and started to look outside the window. It took longer than she expected though. By the time the director decided that they got the scene, they had gone through nine takes that took almost two hours. Now the director wanted to take the last scene for the day, which was of the students leaving the classroom and out into the hallway. "Am I just supposed to walk?" she asked one of the directors.

"Hold your bag over your shoulder and just walk. The camera will do the rest."

"Wait a minute Seiji-san! Walsh-san is supposed to bump into Michiko-san!"

A young woman who was a head shorter than Aki walked over to the debating assistant directors. She had sparkling hazel eyes and browning-black hair that feel across her back and framed a soft and slender face. "Ara, I believe the script said that I'm supposed to carelessly bump into Walsh-san in the hallway." She turned and smiled up at the raven-haired woman. "I'm Michiko Hayashi," she introduced herself.

"Logan Aki Walsh," Aki told the shorter woman. Seeing the actress up close, she could see why Michiko was picked to be the lead role of the series. Not only was she incredibly beautiful, she also held an aura that made people gravitate towards her. She didn't even have to make an effort to be charming. She stood still when the actress stepped closer to her and stood on her tiptoes to look closely at her face. "Is there something on my face?" she asked feeling somewhat amused.

Michiko smiled and pushed Aki's fake glasses up the bridge of her nose with her finger. "You're very attractive," she told the taller woman. "From afar, you'd think that you're a pure Japanese woman, but up close you could see that you've got a mix of something else in your blood."

"Well, my mother was Japanese," Aki explained, fingering the piercings on her ear.

"And your father?"

"Pure-blood Irish, but he was raised in the States." Aki looked around and saw that the camera crew was still setting up to shoot the next scene. "By the way, since you've been in this series from the start, would you happen to know who my character is to your character?"

Michiko nodded. "Well my character, Rui Koga, she starts out as an ordinary school girl. She's neither popular or geeky. Just average," she started. "Towards the middle of the first season, she accidentally gets involved in this scandal and becomes somewhat of a celebrity in the school."

"Is that in a bad or good way?"

Michiko smiled. "Both. The scandal involved call girls so some people began to notice her looks while others started to blackmail her into doing things for them." She straightened her vest and eyed the camera crew. "Anyhow, the story goes about with her trying to live a normal life despite the weird popularity she gained and the blackmail she receives. In this season, she meets your character and befriends her."

"Close friend?"

The actress shook her head. "More like something between an acquaintance and a friend. From what I remember, your character will be doing a lot of listening."

"I see," Aki said, absently running a finger on the silver ear cuff clinging to the helix of her ear.

"Ano…" A voice sounded from behind the women.

Aki turned her head and saw the awestruck face of her dark-haired escort. "Natsumi? What is it?" She watched as the girl scuffed her foot on the ground and seemed to be wringing her hands behind her back.

"I was wondering if I could get Michiko-san's autograph," Natsumi said, batting her eyelashes at Aki who looked exasperated.

"If you want her autograph, you could just ask her," Aki muttered, glancing at the actress at her side and seeing that she was chuckling. "Michiko-san, this is Natsumi Tsujimoto," she introduced the infamous strongwoman of Bokuto Station. "The blue-haired one is Miyuki Kobayakawa, her partner," she pointed at Miyuki who was conversing with one of the members of the technical team.

"Bodyguards?" Michiko shook hands with Natsumi and continued to smile when the dark-haired policewoman unashamedly swooned at being able to shake hands with one of the most famous actresses of Japan.

"Mostly for formalities and at the insistence of my parents," Aki explained, shaking her head at the silliness of Natsumi. "I'm sure you've heard of all the incidents relating to me when I arrived here in Japan."

"Oh those," Michiko acknowledged. "Well, I completely understand why you'd need escorts. Has the media been hounding you until now?"

Aki shook her head. "Thankfully, they haven't," she answered in a relieved voice. "Most of the paparazzi from back home have gone back to the States. I suppose they're leaving the work to the local paparazzi," she mused. "After all, they could easily share information through the internet."

"That's true," Michiko grimly agreed. As a fellow celebrity, she too knew the cumbersome drawbacks to being one. To Natsumi, she smiled and accepted a piece of paper and a pen. After quickly putting her signature on it, she handed it back to the very happy escort. "There you go."

Natsumi grinned and waved the paper in the air. "Miyuki! I got her autograph! Yoriko and the others will be so jealous!"

"Natsumi… you're such a kid!"

Aki shook her head at the behavior of her two escorts. "They're best friends and partners. They're police officers at the traffic department of the Bokuto Station," she told the actress. "They saved me from a horde of paparazzi when it got out that I was in the country."

Michiko smiled. "Oh I saw those pictures. You were working as a waitress at a restaurant near the Bokuto Mall, right?"

"I see that you're quite updated," Aki teased, earning her a laugh from Michiko.

"Alright ladies! Please take your positions and if all goes well, we'll call it for the day!" Fortunately, they only needed to do two takes for the directors to be satisfied with the scene. Among all the actors and actresses on the set, Aki was the first to head to the dressing room to switch to her civilian attire. She still felt very uncomfortable in a schoolgirl uniform.

"Aki! Are you ready to go?" Natsumi called from the door of the dressing room.

"Just about," Aki called from inside. She finished buttoning her polo and grabbed her jacket. Though Christmas was a little over a month away, the month of November brought sufficient cold to Tokyo. Aki though was used to the cold even if she did live in California. When she took a two-year leave of absence to pursue a career in bouldering, she realized that finding the best bouldering sites mostly meant settling down in cold and wintery climates. She developed her resistance to cold because of that. "God, it's past three already and I'm starving!" She scowled when she remembered that Mayo told her earlier that the shoot would only take two hours at most.

"Miyuki! I'm hungry too!" Natsumi added, looking down at her growling stomach. "Why don't we all go out for a late lunch?" she suggested as she and her partner walked Aki out of the school and towards the Hyundai Genesis.

"I wouldn't mind," Miyuki replied, looking at Aki for her approval who was already smiling.

"I haven't been to one of those sushi conveyer belt restaurants yet," Aki said, a tinge of excitement coloring her voice. "I was wondering if-" she paused abruptly and pulled out a vibrating cellphone from her pocket. "Excuse me," she told her escorts before flipping the phone open and pressing it against her ear. "Walsh speaking…" She listened for a few seconds, the smile turning into a frown. "That's today? I thought you said it was tomorrow!" She shook her head at her escorts and strode away from them.

Natsumi shook her head and glanced at her partner. "I wonder what she's talking about," she mused.

"Seeing the look on Aki's face, I'd say it's something bad." Miyuki walked over to the loaned car and started the engines. The inside of the car was frigidly cold and she thought that putting on the heating system would at least give comfort to Aki once she was done with her phone call. While Miyuki waited in the driver's seat, Natsumi leaned against the side of the car, watching their charge angrily converse with whoever was on the other line.

"At this rate, I'm not going to have any lunch!" Aki growled as she strode back to the car. She quickly got inside and released a frustrated sigh as Miyuki pulled out of the parking space, and drove the car out of the school premises. "There's a press conference that I have to attend right now. They've been expecting me since twenty minutes ago."

"The venue?" Miyuki asked without taking her eyes off the road.

"Grand Hyatt," Aki answered, kneading her temples with her fingers. "If I had the choice, I'd skip it, but my contractors namely Armani and Reebok insisted that I go since people from back in America are starting to wonder how I have been doing here." She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. "They're worried that people will start speculating that I'm hiding here in Japan for other nonsense reasons."

"But that's unfair! You came here for a break, but you ended up working anyway!" Natsumi exclaimed, her annoyed tone of voice almost equaling that of Aki's.

Aki shook her head. "Calm down Natsumi," she told the dark-haired woman. "I'm likely to rant about these kinds of things, but it doesn't mean that I'm not used to it." She looked through the window and quietly watched the skyline approach. "Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice," she murmured, not intending for Natsumi and Miyuki to hear.

Natsumi was about to turn in her seat to say something to Aki, but she was stopped when Miyuki held up her hand. It was hard to claim that you understood what a celebrity felt like when you've never been one in the first place. With grim looks on their faces, the three women silently made their way to the hotel.

* * *

"As I said earlier, I did punch Mr. Burdock and apologized for it," Aki wearily explained as bright flashes from cameras blinded her. "And I will make it clear now. I am willingly going to submit myself to the decision of the court and the concerned authorities when I return to America."

"What can you say about the statements released by Damien Burdock?" One of the many American paparazzi who travelled to Japan stood from his seat and called out his question.

The raven-haired boulderer shrugged. "Personally, I don't give a damn about what he says especially all that nonsense he's been saying about Selene."

Another reporter got up from her seat and caught Aki's attention. "Mr. Burdock has been adamantly saying that you and Selene were seeing each other behind his back and that the two of you were in a sexual relationship."

Aki gaped at the female reporter and controlled the urged to laugh aloud or worse lose her temper. She was so tempted to curse right then and there, but she knew that it would just make things worse. "Mr. Burdock doesn't know any better," she calmly said. "Selene and I weren't in good terms with each other back then, which easily contradicts his statement."

"He claimed that lovers often hid their real relationship behind friendship," the reporter shot back. Apparently, she was quite sure that Aki had indeed developed a forbidden relationship with her best friend.

"And I'm telling you that everything you hear from Burdock is crap," Aki finally let out in an angry voice. She had enough of the interrogation she was going through. The first ten minutes of the conference was simple enough to handle since the reporters merely asked about her feelings of staying in Japan, her recent projects and the win in the Asia X-Games. The next three and a half hours were even more tedious especially when they started prying into her private life and her friendship with Selene. "I have nothing else to say," she coldly told the reporters, getting to her feet and exiting through a side door.

"Walsh-san, you can't leave yet!" A Japanese man who had introduced himself as a representative of the Armani branch in Tokyo tried to block the way of the livid raven-haired woman.

Aki scowled and brought her full height and powerful build over the rather petite man. "I'll leave when I want to," she said in a dangerous tone of voice. "I will not subject myself to more of that useless interrogation. Tell my endorsers that they had better screen the reporters properly first. I'm pretty sure that there were quite a few tabloid reporters in there." With that, she walked around the man and headed to the hotel's lobby where Miyuki and Natsumi caught up to her.

"Stupid reporters," Natsumi muttered as she and her partner hurriedly escorted Aki out of the hotel and into their car. "They shouldn't have asked such stupid questions."

Miyuki gravely nodded her head in agreement and looked at Aki through the rearview mirror. The boulderer looked exhausted and it was quite reasonable why she looked that way. The woman had not eaten anything at all since she woke up that morning and she was subjected to an impromptu shooting and press conference turned tedious interrogation. "Do you still want to eat out, Aki?"

The amber-eyed woman shook her head. "I don't feel like going out after what just happened," she replied. "You could just drop me off at my apartment."

Natsumi shook her head and eyed her partner. "You could use one of Miyuki's home-cooked meals!" Her forest green eyes cheerfully looked at the slightly surprised Aki. "Ne Miyuki? I bet Aki would feel better once she gets some of your home-cooked meals into her system."

Miyuki softly smiled. Natsumi always had a way with trying to cheer her friends up. "I don't mind cooking," she told both her partner and Aki. "And I'm sure you haven't had a decent meal in you since you arrived here in Japan."

Aki sheepishly smiled. "Actually, you're right. I'm not much of a cook and I usually just eat easy to prepare food in the mornings then just eat out for lunch and dinner." She leaned forward and placed one hand on Miyuki's shoulder and the other on Natsumi's. "I accept gladly as long as I'm not intruding!"

Natsumi grinned. "How can you say that you're intruding when Miyuki and I are always following you around?"

The smile on Aki's face widened. "That's true," she admitted. To Miyuki, she said, "I'll eat anything you cook."

"Hey! I'll be helping out too!" Natsumi announced.

Aki shook her head. "I have this feeling that you're not exactly a good cook."

"She isn't," Miyuki clarified, ignoring the hurt look on her partner's face.

"Awww Miyuki! I'm improving!"

"If you call improving making a complete mess of our kitchen!"

* * *

Aki patted her filled stomach and smiled appreciatively at the blue-haired woman before her. Since they were technically off-duty and in their apartment, both Miyuki and Natsumi were dressed in ordinary clothes with Natsumi wearing a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt while Miyuki wore a shirt and loose jogging pants. "You're a wonderful cook, Miyuki," she complimented the blue-haired mechanic from her seat on the couch.

Miyuki blushed at the compliment. "Thanks."

"She may be the better cook, but I'm better than her at other things!" Natsumi walked over to the refrigerator and pulled the door open.

While Miyuki rolled her eyes, Aki simply chuckled and watched the strongwoman of Bokuto Station rummage through the contents of the refrigerator. "Oh? And what are you better at doing than Miyuki?"

Natsumi pulled out what she was looking for and kicked the refrigerator door shut. "I'm better at drinking and partying!" she announced, holding up three six-packs of her favorite Sapporo Classic beer. "Come on Aki-chan!" she said playfully, handing the packs of beer to the half-Japanese woman and grabbing two bags of potato chips from the cupboard. "I'm sure you've done quite a lot of drinking back in America!"

Aki smiled and took a can of the famous Japanese beer. "I do drink, but I've been controlling my alcohol intake especially when I'm due to participate in a bouldering event," she explained, tossing a can to Natsumi who sat next to Aki on the couch. "Now that you've mentioned it, I haven't had an ounce of alcohol since arriving here in Japan."

"And that gives me more reason to make you drink tonight!" Natsumi exclaimed, pulling off the tab on the can and downing at least half of the beverage.

Amber eyes twinkled in laughter as Aki followed suit and downed her own can of beer. "Miyuki! Won't you be joining us?" she asked, raising her can up in the air.

The blue-haired policewoman shook her head. "I don't really drink," she informed the boulderer. "Besides, Natsumi can finish all those cans of beer by herself," she added with an amused smile. "If you need anything else, I'll be in my room tinkering with my gadgets." With that, she left her partner and their charge in the living room. It was a good four hours later when Natsumi staggered into her bedroom. The dark brown-haired woman reeked of alcohol as she pulled Miyuki out of her chair and dragged her into the living room.

"Should we take her back to her apartment?" Natsumi slurred, rubbing her very red face with her hand.

Miyuki furrowed her eyebrows when she saw that both women consumed all eighteen cans of beer. She was about to admonish Natsumi for carelessly throwing the empty cans of beer onto the floor but stopped when she saw the sleeping figure of Aki who was seated on the floor and leaning back against the couch. To Natsumi, she said, "It'll be too difficult to bring her to the car and back to her apartment."

Natsumi nodded and hiccupped. "So we'll make her sleep here?"

"Clean up first and throw those empty cans into the trash," Miyuki ordered. "I'll fetch the extra futon and a pillow for Aki." She made her way to the hall closet and pulled out the futon and pillow. Walking back into the living room, she was pleased to see that Natsumi already disposed of all the emptied cans of beer and was squatting in front of the seated and sleeping figure of Aki. "Natsumi! Help me roll out the futon."

The brown-haired woman shook her head and beckoned Miyuki to come closer. She gestured at Aki when Miyuki squatted down next to her and closely looked at the raven-haired girl's face.

"Selene..." Aki murmured, her hair falling over her face as her head leaned forward. "… I'm sorry…"

Natsumi and Miyuki gave each other a look. Silently deciding that they shouldn't talk anymore, both women rolled out the futon, placed the pillow at the head of the mattress and pulled back the blanket. Letting Natsumi handle the heavy-lifting despite her inebriated state, Miyuki waited by the futon as her partner half carried and half dragged their charge to her temporary bed for the night. Miyuki took charge and tucked the sleep-talking woman in while Natsumi watched.

"She's still regretting it after all," Natsumi softly said, slightly sobered up after hearing Aki talk in her sleep.

Miyuki nodded her head and got to her feet. "Who wouldn't be regretting such a thing?" she asked no one in particular as she walked to the light switch. "We'll let her sleep in tomorrow," she decided, switching off the light and motioning for Natsumi to follow her into the hall. "From what I know, she doesn't have anything to do until tomorrow afternoon and that's the shooting for the next episode of 'Under the Starlight.'" She stopped at her door and worriedly gazed at her silent partner. "Natsumi?"

"She's more like me than I thought," Natsumi said, rubbing the back of her neck and gazing at the darkened living room. "The only difference is that she believes that she's at fault for the death of a loved one." Her green eyes were weary and filled with sadness. Seeing and hearing the raven-haired girl mutter out an apology to her dead friend spurred unwanted memories of Tokairin. She swiped at her tearing eyes. "I-I… miss him," she choked.

It was then that Miyuki knew exactly what to do. She stepped closer to her best friend and took her into her arms. The slightly taller Natsumi buried her face into Miyuki's shoulder, letting her tears soak into her shirt. "Shhh…" Miyuki cooed, gently running her hands up and down Natsumi's lower back. "It'll be alright, Natsumi," she softly assured the older woman. "No matter what… I'll always be here for you."

* * *

_**It's been five months since I last updated! Hahaha! Sorry for taking such a long break! I've been really busy with school and the like and I needed a break from writing any of my fanfiction stories. I recently created an account in fictionpress and have been working on my first original story there. I'll admit that developing the original story sidetracked me quite a bit, but I decided after a few months of writing that I missed my fanfiction stories. Anyhow, I took a break from fictionpress and decided to start working on my YUA and Kim Possible fanfics. **_

_**I hope this chapter turned out well though!**_

_**Next chapter: Farewell and an Incident**_


	6. Farewell and an Incident

_Chapter 6: "Farewell and an Incident"_

Before she knew it, December had come and Christmas was fast approaching. The three months Aki has used up in staying in her mother's homeland was ending for she knew that she had to return to California. Aside from the fact that her parents expected her to come home for the holidays, her endorsers from the west wanted her to come back home to tackle major projects that they were forced to put on hold. That meant that she would most likely leave Japan for good.

The amber-eyed woman sighed as she leaned against the windowsill and gazed out into the unused schoolyard. The sun was already setting and fortunately, the 'Under the Starlight' episode they were shooting that day was already over. Dark overcast skies were a common thing in Tokyo especially during the winter. The only thing missing was the snow itself except that everyone knew that snow was a rarity in the capital. A hand that tapped her on the shoulder brought Aki out of her thoughts.

"Is something wrong, Aki-san?" Yuka Hasumi asked the half-Japanese woman. "You seem awfully distant today though your character in the series has always been like that," she teased, standing beside the taller woman and leaning back against the same windowsill. They remained silent for a few minutes until Yuka broke the silence. "Does it have something to do with the writers' decision to edit the script?"

Aki raised her eyebrows at the young actress. "How did you know? It was supposed to be a secret between me, the writers and the producers," she told the blue-eyed woman.

Yuka sadly smiled up at Aki. "I overheard it the other day. The producers and the writers were discussing the scenario that would involve your character leaving the series." She gestured down below at the schoolyard and pointed out two familiar figures loitering around by a silver Hyundai Genesis car. "Do they know yet?"

The raven-haired boulderer shook her head. "I haven't told them yet. They do know that I have plans of going back to California for the holidays, but they don't exactly know that I might not come back." She sighed once more and fingered the piercings on her ear. "It's a bit difficult for me to say especially since I've gotten so close to them." She had to smile when she heard the raucous laughter of Natsumi. She had no idea what she was laughing about, but hearing her laugh was enough to amuse her.

"It would be unfair if you only told them that you were going back to America for the holidays and never coming back to Japan," Yuka advised. "I'm sure Natsumi-san would be very angry if that were to happen."

"Why do you say that Natsumi would be the angry one?"

Yuka smiled. "I'm not ignorant, Aki-san," she informed the older woman. "Between the two escorts, you're noticeably closer to Natsumi. Perhaps you don't show your closeness like the type of closeness shared between Miyuki-san and Natsumi-san, but I can tell that there's something that the both of you share."

Aki suddenly felt bashful at the revealed observation of Yuka. She couldn't deny the fact though. While Miyuki was quieter, sweet and caring, Natsumi was always cheerful and adamantly tried to keep Aki happy despite all the difficult situations she had been through. The ebony brown-haired woman had been a staunch protector, did everything in her power to protect Aki from the media and her crazed fans. And of course, there was also the fact that they shared one thing in common… losing a loved one.

"Am I right?"

The boulderer sighed and nodded her head. "It's going to be difficult to tell them either way," she told Yuka, glancing at her watch. "It's getting late and I should get going. I promised Natsumi and Miyuki that I would accompany them back to Bokuto Station and treat them out at one of those sushi conveyer belt restaurants afterwards."

Yuka nodded her head and pushed herself away from the windowsill. "So this is goodbye, huh?" She offered her hand and firmly shook hands with Aki.

"For now I suppose," Aki replied, smiling back at the actress. "I'll see you around, Yuka-san."

"When you come back to Japan, make sure to contact me," Yuka called out as Aki walked down the hall and into the dressing room.

Twenty minutes later, Aki was bidding the crew and the other actors and actresses goodbye and heading out of the school building to meet up with her escorts. She must have still had a sad smile on her face because Natsumi easily noticed it and became concerned.

"Aki? Are you alright? Why do you look like that?" Natsumi asked, opening the car door for the amber-eyed woman. She got into the front seat and twisted in her seat to look closely at their charge. "You've got this look that looks… final or something like that."

Aki shook her head and continued to smile. "I'm just a bit tired today," she told both her escorts. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was close to six. "We're heading over to Bokuto Station right?"

"Yeah! Kachou asked us to come in today to make and submit our reports," Natsumi cheerfully said. "We haven't been able to do any of our usual paperwork since we've been assigned to escort you." She tapped out a beat on the car's armrest and watched the scenery pass outside her window.

"I apologize for keeping you from your real work."

Miyuki shook her head, but kept her focus on her driving. "You don't need to apologize for anything," she assured the boulderer. "Besides, we willingly accepted the job to escort you. Doing our usual reports is not such a big deal anyway," she added, glancing at her partner and giving her a mocking grin. "Except that Natsumi here always manages to make it a difficult task."

"Awww Miyuki!" Natsumi whined, lightly punching Miyuki on her arm. "You know that I'm really more into the action! I'm not the type who likes getting bogged down by paperwork!"

"All police officers have paperwork to do!" Miyuki patiently reminded her partner.

Aki laughed at the two policewomen. "The two of you crack me up!" She rubbed her tearing eyes and grinned at the two full-blooded Japanese women in the front. "I'm definitely going to miss you when I go back to California." She suddenly cursed silently and scolded herself for bringing up the topic.

"But Aki-chan, you'll only be gone for the holidays!" Natsumi pointed out.

Aki didn't know what to say, but ended up becoming very relieved when the Hyundai Genesis pulled up in front of the Bokuto Police Station. "Do you want me to stay here while you do your reports?"

Miyuki shook her head vehemently and looked appalled at her suggestion. "You're coming up with us Aki!" she firmly said, getting out of the car and opening the door for Aki. She reached inside, pulled Aki out and towed her inside the police station.

"It's bad manners of we make our charge wait in the car while we do reports," Natsumi explained, walking on the other side of Aki and leading her up the stairs to the traffic department. "Besides, the kachou and the others have been expecting you to visit!"

"Visit?" Aki asked, noticing that other police station visitors were pointing at her.

"Well actually, it's more appropriate to say that Yoriko and the other officers want to see you," Natsumi explained with a sheepish smile. "Yoriko has been hounding us to get your autograph and bring you over to the station so that they could have a photo session."

"Not to mention, we had to threaten her that if we did get Aki in the station and submit to a photo session, she wouldn't reproduce the pictures and sell them online," Miyuki added, stopping their group at the door of the traffic department. "Looks like all of them are here," she told her friends.

"By that you're meaning that Nakajima-kun is there too," Natsumi slyly pointed out. She knew that Miyuki terribly missed the white hawk of Bokuto station especially since they hardly saw each other throughout the course of Aki's three-month stay. She was always present whenever Nakajima would call Miyuki on the phone only to be sadly refused because they had work to do. "I'm sure Nakajima-kun is just itching to see you!"

Aki could not help but grin as Natsumi teased her partner to a blush. She knew both policewomen long enough to know that Miyuki and Nakajima were in love with each other, but were quite slow to proclaim that love to each other and to the rest of the world. "Cute," Aki remarked in English, winking at the blushing Miyuki who understood what she said. Both Natsumi and Miyuki were quite fluent in the language after they spent half a year working for the Los Angeles Police Department. "Miyuki, you and Nakajima-san are definitely one of the cutest couples I've ever met," she continued in English.

Miyuki embarrassedly flapped a hand at Aki before pushing the door open and leading her partner and the boulderer inside. "We're here kachou!" she announced, trying not to look at Nakajima who suddenly got to his feet to greet her.

"Hoy Nakajima-kun!" Natsumi boisterously greeted the motorcycle patrol officer. "I see that you're happy to see Miyuki!" She grinned at the tall man and clapped him on the back while Miyuki led Aki to the small meeting room situated at the side of the traffic department. She reached out, wrapped an arm around Nakajima's neck and pulled him down to her face. "Now's your chance to ask her out on a date!" she whispered wickedly, deeply enjoying how the bespectacled man was blushing so deeply.

"Better stop teasing him, Natsumi. By the way he's turning red, he may explode from embarrassment," Aki told Natsumi in English. She didn't want to embarrass Nakajima any further so she refrained from speaking in Japanese when she gave the suggestion to Natsumi.

The brown-haired policewoman made a face and pouted at Aki. "But Aki! It's fun!" she replied in Japanese, ignoring the confused look on Nakajima's face. He obviously didn't understand a word that Aki just said. "And I don't want Miyuki to become an old maid!"

"O-Old maid?!?!" Nakajima blurted out. "T-Tsujimoto!"

"Natsumi!" Miyuki shouted at the same time.

Aki was laughing hard now, seeing that both Miyuki and Nakajima were now the same shade of tomato red. Switching back to Japanese so that the other officers would understand her, she said, "Now I understand why you said it's fun." She exchanged grins with Natsumi then settled herself on the couch. "The both of them are really amusing to tease." She thanked the sable-haired Aoi who served her tea and scooted over when Yoriko came over holding a poster of Aki decked in full bouldering gear and a permanent marker.

"Yoriko! She's barely even drank her tea and you're already harassing her!" Natsumi scolded the bespectacled officer.

"Mou… Natsumi!" Yoriko whined, holding the poster and marker out of reach so that Natsumi wouldn't be able to grab it from her. "This is the only time Aki-chan came over and I've been meaning to ask for an autograph!"

Aki chuckled and held a hand up so that Natsumi would stop her assault. "Seriously Natsumi! I have no problem with giving autographs and besides, both Yoriko-san and Aoi-san helped me out back at Auntie Mitsuko's café." She took the poster and marker and subsequently wrote a short note to Yoriko and signed her name in English. "There we go," she handed it back to the long-haired officer who was absolutely giddy.

Apparently, Yoriko wasn't done yet when she brought out a digital camera. "I bought this for exactly this purpose," she announced with a mischievous laugh. "Could I have a picture taken with you?" she asked.

The boulderer smiled and nodded her head. "Sit next to me and we can have Natsumi take the picture," she said, ignoring the refusal written on Natsumi's face. "Come on Natsumi, afterwards we could have our own picture taken." She put an arm around Yoriko and smiled as Natsumi took the picture.

"May I ask to have a picture taken with you too?"

Miyuki and Natsumi gawked at the chief when he asked. "Kachou! I didn't think you'd want to have your picture taken with Aki!" Natsumi pointed out, not entirely sure if she felt more amused or surprised.

The chief cleared his throat. "I'm a fan too, you know," he told his subordinates who openly expressed their surprise. "Now, now, I'm not that old and I do watch TV and sporting events," he reminded the people in his department. "And it won't hurt to have a picture taken with such an inspiring person."

"You flatter me," Aki said with a smile. "I don't mind at all, sir," she told the chief. She looked at the rest of the officers in the department and said, "Actually, I won't mind having pictures taken with all of you." After saying that, the whole department became rowdy as officers lined up to have their pictures taken with the famous Logan Aki Walsh. Yoriko promised everyone that she would email each officer a copy before proclaiming that they should have a group picture taken with Aki.

While Yoriko set the camera on a table and set the timer, Natsumi and Miyuki stood on either side of a very gallant Aki while the rest of the officers arranged themselves around them. "Okay! Ready?" she asked. The bespectacled officer then pressed the button then hurried over to the group. "Say cheese!"

"Cheese!" All of them said as the flash went off.

Yoriko hurried back to her camera to check if the picture turned out fine. Giving everyone a thumbs-up sign, she announced that she would send everyone a copy. While the chief brought order to their office, Miyuki and Natsumi settled themselves at their desks to finish their reports. Aki on the other hand relaxed on the couch and occupied herself by drinking tea and listening to the chief talk about what has been happening in the traffic department. She was actually reduced to laughter upon hearing that Aoi had been the cause of a traffic mishap because two of the offenders fought over her. She had to admit that Aoi was beautiful despite really being a man in disguise.

After a suggestion from Miyuki, the half-Irish boulderer decided to head up to the roof to gaze at the Tokyo skyline and catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji. She stayed on the roof long enough that the sky was already turning dark. It was Natsumi who came up to the roof to pick her up. "Even if it's only the city, the view from here is still fantastic," she told her escort with a smile.

"We don't have as good a view like that from Tokyo Tower, but it's good enough," Natsumi replied, walking to Aki's side and leaning against the protective railing that ran along the perimeter of the roof. "Miyuki and I are finished with our reports."

Aki nodded and pulled away from the railing. "Which means that I have to treat the two of you out already." Her amber eyes twinkled as she smiled down at the slightly shorter woman. "Actually, I have a better idea."

"What?"

"I'm going home for the holidays, right?" Aki followed Natsumi off the roof and back into the building. "Since I won't be here for Christmas, I think it would be a good idea if I gave the Bokuto traffic department an early Christmas gift." She chuckled and reached out with her hand to close Natsumi's gaping mouth. "Why are you so surprised?"

"What do you have in mind?"

The boulderer stuffed her hands in her pockets and looked up at the ceiling as they walked to the traffic department. "I still want to eat at one of those sushi restaurants with the conveyer belts," she told her escort. "I was thinking that I could treat the whole department to one of those restaurants. I'll be hitting two birds with one stone that way."

"You're going to be spending a lot," Natsumi warned.

Aki laughed. "I know, but it doesn't matter. It's going to be a Christmas gift and thank you gift combined." They entered the department and saw that all the officers were preparing to go home. "Help me make the announcement," she whispered to Natsumi who gave her an incredulous look.

"Why don't you do it yourself?" Natsumi demanded.

Aki shrugged and simply waited for Natsumi to call the attention of her co-officers.

"Hey everyone!" Natsumi called to her friends. "Aki has a proposition." She smirked at Aki and pushed her forward so that she could explain her proposition.

Giving Natsumi an annoyed look first, Aki then focused her attention on the members of the traffic department. "You've probably heard that I'll be leaving for California to spend the holidays with my family," she began, looking at each of the faces gazing back at her. "Since I won't be here for Christmas, I decided that I should treat all of you out at a nice sushi bar." She kept quiet for a bit and smiled to herself as the officers murmured excitedly to each other. "Moreover, this is also my way of saying thank you to all of you. My stay here in Japan wouldn't have been as comfortable without your help." She nodded specifically to Natsumi and Miyuki. "So what do you say? I'd like to treat all of you out for dinner," she paused then added, "and some drinking tonight."

"Yahoo! I'm ready!" Natsumi pumped her fist in the air while the other officers either repeated her actions or simply nodded their heads in agreement.

Aki on the other hand continued to smile and glanced at her watch. "Great! Since everything is settled then, let's head out and pick out a restaurant."

The chief walked over to the boulderer and gratefully smiled at her. "Did you have a restaurant in mind?" he asked.

Aki shook her head. "I'm not really familiar with the restaurants around here," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "Although I do want to go to a sushi restaurant with a conveyer belt and has excellent quality food."

"That would mean an expensive restaurant," the chief pointed out, not sure if Aki was willing to splurge on nearly thirty of officers from the Bokuto traffic department.

"Exactly," Aki said. "I've already collected my paycheck from all my recent projects and I'm not afraid to spend it," she assured the chief. "You needn't worry, sir. I truly wish to show my gratitude towards all of you."

Natsumi chose that moment to link their arms together and hang onto Aki's arm. "If you can't decide, I know just the place!" she announced with a wide grin. "Their food is of excellent quality and they have a sushi conveyer belt!" She attempted to pull Aki out of the department. "Not to mention they have one of the best sake in town!"

Aki merely smiled back at the ecstatic Natsumi and tried to hide her feelings of sadness and regret. She still could not find it in herself to tell the truth to her escorts and hoped that by the time she finished treating the traffic department out, she would be able to tell them.

* * *

"She's certainly a very generous person," Aoi remarked as she poured sake for the chief.

The mustached leader of the traffic department nodded his head in agreement and downed his cup of sake. "I could see that and I'm sure the rest of our officers have acknowledged that fact." He watched as his famished subordinates dove into the platters of sushi and food like there was no tomorrow. There was also at least twenty earthenware jars of top of the line sake. The restaurant Natsumi picked out for the night was pleasantly surprised at the large group led by the famous Logan Aki Walsh who simply told the restaurant's manager that she would be handling the bill. The manager gave the large group their two largest rooms and immediately went to work when Aki bypassed the menu and simply ordered one of everything in it.

Aoi refilled the cup of the chief and laughed along with her co-officers who were trying to get both Nakajima and Yoriko drunk with sake. "It's still too early to get them drunk!" she scolded.

"Hic! Aoi-chan! Come drink with me!" Yoriko slurred, already tipsy just by drinking a few cups of sake. Even if she verbally refused the offered cups of sake, she continued to down cup after cup.

Aoi shook her head. "Perhaps later, Yoriko-chan," she decided.

"Ahhh! I want to drink sake with Kobayakawa!" Nakajima cried out as his co-officers from the motorcycle patrol ferried cup after cup of sake into his mouth. "Kobayakawa!" he called out with drunken vigor.

The officers from the traffic department laughed at Nakajima's funny behavior and continued to enjoy their food and drink for the night. They had to explain to Nakajima several times that Miyuki and Natsumi were keeping Aki company at the sushi conveyer belt attraction and that they would be joining them afterwards. It was only an hour later when the two policewomen and their ward joined the party in the private rooms. During the course of the meal, the police officers drunkenly began to sing and dance. At the same time, at the suggestion of Yoriko, many of the officers tried to encourage Nakajima to make a move on Miyuki.

Natsumi was enjoying the spectacle and turned around to tell Aki that she hoped that Nakajima would actually be successful this time, but saw that the raven-haired boulderer was nowhere to be seen. Tapping Aoi, who was the only sober officer in the room, on the shoulder, she asked if she had seen Aki.

The disguised man shook her head. "Perhaps she went back outside to have another go at the conveyer belt," she told the younger woman. "You did say that she was greatly entertained by it."

Natsumi nodded her head and excused herself from the private party. "Make sure Nakajima-kun doesn't strip out of his clothing," she reminded Aoi. "The last time he got drunk, he almost got naked in front of all of us." With that, she stepped out of the room and searched the restaurant for her charge. Seeing that she wasn't in the restaurant, she approached the host and asked if she had seen the famous model and recently turned actress. After finding out the whereabouts of Aki, Natsumi grabbed her coat, pulled it on and headed outside of the restaurant. The establishment was built halfway up one of the uphill roads of the district and despite the steep climb, the restaurant was still quite popular among the city dwellers.

Squinting through the darkness, Natsumi searched for the telltale signs of Aki and eventually spotted her lone figure atop the hill. Jogging up the hill, Natsumi walked towards Aki who was solemnly sitting on a bench that had a good view of the suburbs below. "Here you are!" The dark-haired officer plopped down beside Aki on the bench and stretched her arms into the cold air. "It's cold out tonight so let's head back inside and warm ourselves by drinking sake!" Her smile slowly turned into a concerned frown when Aki simply shook her head at her suggestion. "Aki?"

"I've been meaning to tell you and Miyuki this for quite some time now," Aki began in a soft voice, amber eyes never locking with Natsumi's dark emerald green orbs. "I just… couldn't find it in myself to tell you." She looked up at the partially starlit sky and released a long sigh.

"Aki, what's wrong?" Natsumi pressed. Her worry for the other woman was increasing.

The boulderer finally stopped gazing at the sky and locked eyes with Natsumi, knowing that her amber eyes would give everything away. "I was just thinking that I'm going to miss Japan a lot when I go back to California."

Natsumi frowned and punched Aki for saying such a useless thing. She didn't even bother to say sorry when Aki flinched in pain from the hit. "You're being silly! How can you miss a place when you'll only be gone for a few weeks?" Her eyes widened in realization when Aki shook her head again at her. "No…" she whispered.

Aki sadly smiled at her bodyguard. "Yes…" she corrected. "I… I won't be coming back, Natsumi," she told the shocked woman seated beside her.

"But what about the TV series?" Natsumi demanded in a tight voice. "What about your other projects?" She didn't know why she was feeling so distressed, but she certainly didn't like the idea that Aki was permanently leaving Japan. "What about feeling secure and safe here compared to America?" she asked in a softer voice.

"I've talked to KAGE Productions already. Their writers will be revising the script and coming with an explanation that would explain my character's sudden disappearance," Aki said, leaning back against the cold bench and warming her hands inside her jacket's pockets. "As for my other projects," she shrugged her shoulders. "The contracts have come to an end anyway."

"And the safety and security you wanted by coming here to Japan?"

Aki gave Natsumi a tight smile. "The safety and security from living here was received of course," she answered. "But all good things have to come to an end." She ran her cold fingers through her raven hair. "As much as I want to stay here in Japan, I can't deny the fact that I'm an American and that I'm homesick. There's also the fact that I am still in contract with my endorsers in the west and that they wish for me to come back home to tackle new projects."

"But there are numerous other opportunities for you here in Japan!" Natsumi tried. There had to be another reason why Aki decided to go back to America and she wasn't about to let Aki return that easily.

"I know," Aki replied, the sadness never leaving her amber eyes. "But there's only so much I could do here." The tall boulderer got up from her seat on the bench and walked to the edge of the top of the hill. "I miss my family in any case. Not to mention, I have to face the charges Burdock put on me."

The brown-haired officer had enough. She bolted up from the bench and marched over to Aki, grabbing her by the shoulder and turning her around so that they could look at each other. "I don't believe you! You've lived by yourself for two years in other countries when you were pursuing your bouldering career! You said so yourself that you just needed to pay a fine for physically assaulting Burdock!" She angrily stared up at the calm, but sad face of Aki. "Why are you doing this? Why do you want to leave?" she demanded, her grip so hard that she was probably already bruising Aki's shoulders.

Aki wearily sighed and pried Natsumi's hand off her shoulders. "Natsumi… I have to go back," she gently told the younger woman. "No matter how much I enjoyed yours and Miyuki's company and the support of the Japanese people, I still have to go back."

"Why?"

The raven-haired woman remained silent for a few moments before finally closing her eyes. "The longer I stay here, the more I feel that I am running away from my mistakes," she told Natsumi in a voice so soft that the winter wind almost drowned her answer out.

An awkward smile found its way to Natsumi's lips as she processed Aki's answer. "So you're running away again," she accused.

Aki shook her head and opened her mouth to explain, but couldn't let a word out. Natsumi was right. No matter what she said or did, she was still running away from her past. "It's not that simple, Natsumi."

"Nothing is simple!" Natsumi almost screamed. "Do you think returning to America will help you accept your best friend's death?" She saw Aki flinch at her statement but continued her tirade. "No matter where you go, her death will continue to haunt you until you face it head on and accept that it wasn't your fault!"

"Who are you to say that I have to accept her death and that it wasn't my fault?" Aki growled out angrily. "Selene died because of me," she whispered in a voice so raw with emotion. "She was filled with promise and had a good future ahead of her, but because of my selfishness and carelessness, she did something stupid and fell to her death!" Her amber eyes fiercely burned with regret and anger. "And you're telling me that I simply have to accept her death and that it wasn't my fault to begin with?" she demanded, bitterness lacing her voice. "Damn it Natsumi! She went base-jumping because she thought it would get her closer to me!"

"Regretting her death isn't going to bring you any good!" Natsumi shouted shakily. "Dead is dead, Aki," she whispered in a painfully honest voice, remembering herself that she still regretted the death of Tokairin. "It's the same thing too with running away." She gazed into those pained amber eyes and could almost feel that same pain transfer to her. "Do you honestly think…" she paused and laid a hand against Aki's chest. "Do you honestly think that Selene would be happy to see you in this state? Feeling sorry for yourself and accepting the blame for her death?"

Aki shook her head and turned away from Natsumi. "She probably wouldn't be happy," Aki admitted sadly. "Knowing her, she'd probably be livid seeing me in such a sorry state." She bitterly laughed and languidly crossed her arms over her chest. "Nevertheless Natsumi, I've made my decision." She turned back around and seriously gazed back at her one-time escort. "I'm leaving for America in a few hours."

Natsumi's jaw dropped upon hearing the news. "W-Why only now?" she whispered, her head bowed down. "Why are you only telling me this now?" she demanded.

"I have a court hearing scheduled in two days and it's a must that I attend," Aki calmly explained, looking up at the sky in surprise as rare snowflakes drifted down upon them. "It won't make sense that I come back here after the court session and the holidays." Gazing at the frozen Natsumi for a few minutes, she came to a decision. Purposely walking towards the shorter woman, she paused just a few inches away from her and slowly, but deliberately gathered the dark-haired policewoman in her arms. "Natsumi… thank you," she said with feeling. "If it weren't for you and Miyuki, my stay here in Japan would have been meaningless." They stayed like that for a few more moments with Aki holding Natsumi close until she pulled away and gestured at an approaching cab. "I've already paid for the bill," she said with a sad smile. "I got to get back to my apartment and collect my things." She regarded Natsumi with her sad amber eyes. "Please tell the chief that I said thank you for assigning the two of you as my escorts." With one last nod, Aki boarded the taxi and disappeared down the dark road.

Natsumi stood there, perplexed, confused and thoroughly depressed. She had not expected things to turn out this way and she definitely didn't like it that Aki was leaving for no good reason. It was even worse that she had to be the one to break the news to her Miyuki and the rest of the officers from the traffic department. The snow was coming down harder and she was starting to feel cold. Trudging back to the restaurant, she left her coat at the coat rack and slowly made her way back to the private rooms in a daze.

Miyuki was the first to notice the strange behavior of her partner and immediately asked if something was wrong. She also noticed that Aki was missing and took the chance to inquire of Aki's whereabouts from her partner. "Is it snowing outside?" Miyuki asked when Natsumi could not come up with an answer.

The strongwoman of Bokuto station nodded her head and took a seat next to her friend. "It is," she replied, hauling a jug of sake over to her and popping the cork off. She brought the jug to her lips and greedily drank its contents.

"How about Aki?"

Natsumi pulled the jug away and released a satisfied breath, her cheeks reddening from the sudden intake of alcohol. "She said that she had to go back to the apartment to make a few important calls," Natsumi lied. "She already paid for the bill and said to enjoy the meal and the sake."

Miyuki had been Natsumi's partner and best friend long enough to know that she was lying. Rather than pry the truth from Natsumi at that moment, she allowed Natsumi to drown herself with the sake and decided that she would ask for the truth when they got back to their apartment. She had a feeling that something was definitely wrong.

* * *

"Mou… Natsumi! You're heavy!" Miyuki complained as she helped her partner through their apartment door and into the living room. "How many jugs of sake did you drink anyway?" she demanded in exasperation.

Natsumi hiccupped and held four fingers up. Despite being wasted, she still managed to hold on to a piece of her consciousness to answer Miyuki's questions. "The sake was good…" she slurred, stumbling across the floor and finally falling onto the couch.

Despite the sheer drunkenness of her friend, Miyuki had to nod her head in agreement. Both the meal and the sake were simply sumptuous. "Aki missed a lot," she remarked, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall and seeing that it was well past two in the morning. After making that remark, the blue-haired mechanic immediately noticed the drunken cheerfulness on Natsumi's face turn into a serious and rather depressed look. "The truth now please," she firmly ordered her partner.

Natsumi fidgeted in her seat then made a much of telling the truth that Miyuki had to make her repeat certain parts several times just so that she could understand. "She left?" she clarified, staying on her feet as she watched Natsumi nod her head. "I didn't think that she was going to leave for good," she mused, pulling her hair-tie off and shaking her long blue hair out. "You couldn't stop her," she told Natsumi in an as-a-matter-of-fact type of voice.

"She said that she was running away from her mistakes," Natsumi slurred, the effect of the alcohol still holding strongly onto her. She let out another hiccup gloomily smiled up at her very sober partner. "She still thinks that it's her fault that Selene died." She slapped her knee and laughed bitterly.

Miyuki kept quiet and gazed at her partner. "She's very much like you in that way, Natsumi," she gently told the older woman. "You hide it well, but you still deeply regret the death of Tokairin." She stepped forward, grabbed Natsumi's hand and touched the silver engagement ring Tokairin had given to Natsumi a few months before his death. "You still wear it as if you've promised yourself that you'd never love again."

"You don't know!" Natsumi shouted, her green eyes becoming bright with tears.

Miyuki shook her head and continued to hold on to Natsumi's hand. "I know, Natsumi," she seriously replied. "You haven't moved on and it's the same with Aki. Now that you know it, don't you think that you had no right to tell Aki all those things?"

Natsumi jerked away from her partner and brought her knees up to her chest. "I didn't want her to leave," Natsumi choked as she hid her face on her knees. "I felt like I've found a kindred spirit when I first met her and found out that we both lost someone dear to us." She shook her head and tightened her hold around her knees. "I wanted…" she hiccupped. "I wanted to have someone who felt the same thing I did close to me!"

"Natsumi…" Miyuki worriedly gazed at her thoroughly drunk and depressed friend before deciding there was nothing else that she could do. She turned around and was about to head to her room when she felt a hand tightly grip her wrist and fling her onto the couch. "Natsumi!" she exclaimed, suddenly finding herself lying on the couch with Natsumi on top of her. This close to her partner, she could smell the strong scent of alcohol from her best friend. "What are-"

"At least you have Nakajima-kun," Natsumi whispered, her green eyes dull and filled with conflicting emotions. "He thinks that it's so easy to get over a loved one's death… a stolen life!" Still gripping Miyuki's wrist in her hand, she kept Miyuki pinned to the couch by straddling the blue-haired mechanic's body with her knees. "He's stupid that way," Natsumi laughed.

"Leave Nakajima out of this!" Miyuki cried out, struggling to get Natsumi off her body.

"Miyuki…"

The ace mechanic of Bokuto Station froze at how Natsumi's voice sounded just now. For a moment, she almost thought that Natsumi called out her name in such a loving manner. Thinking about it gave her the shivers and made her both nervous and fearful. "Natsumi… please get off," she pleaded.

"Why do you like that big oaf anyway?" Natsumi slurred, lifting her free hand and pressing it against Miyuki's smooth cheek. "There are better guys out there." She caressed Miyuki's cheek with her calloused hands and reveled in its softness as her friend trembled beneath her.

"I love Nakajima, Natsumi," Miyuki told her friend in a frantic voice. "And you're drunk!"

"I'm drunk and I'm lonely," Natsumi corrected with a smirk. "There's one way to change your mind about Nakajima though," she softly said, leaning down ever so slowly.

"Natsumi! Don't-" She couldn't finish her protest because Natsumi's lips crushed hers in a forceful kiss. For a few moments, she was completely still, frozen in shock as Natsumi passionately albeit drunkenly kissed her. It was only when Natsumi's hands began to wander that Miyuki snapped out of it and violently kicked Natsumi off and onto the floor. "_Baka!_" she screamed, lifting her hand in the air and bringing it down without any restraint at Natsumi's face.

Natsumi felt the sharp pain hit her face and immediately snapped back to her senses. She slowly turned to look up at her crying partner and that was when realization of what she just did struck her. She struggled to find the right words to say, but failed to come up with something meaningful that would duly explain her unjust actions. "Miyuki… I…" Everything else was caught in her throat as she pressed a hand against her hurting cheek.

The tears freely streamed down Miyuki's face as she angrily and forlornly gazed at her best friend… the best friend that almost violated her. "_Baka…" _she hoarsely whispered then ran into the hallway, the sound of her bedroom door slamming jolting Natsumi into painful sobriety.

The brown-haired policewoman buried her face into her hands and felt the tears eke out. "What have I done?" she whispered to herself.

* * *

"What's your excuse this time, Tsujimoto?"

The officers of the traffic department tried to keep a straight face as they watched Natsumi routinely get reprimanded by the chief because of her tardiness. Despite the fact that all of them came home late from a party the previous night, all the officers with the exception of Natsumi came to work on time. Nakajima himself noticed that Miyuki was distantly trying to keep herself occupied with her work. He, Yoriko and Aoi knew that something had gone amiss between the two best friends. They just didn't know what it was.

"Well Tsujimoto?" the chief asked again, clasping his hands together atop his desk.

"There's no good reason, sir," Natsumi admitted in a weary voice. "I'll make the apology letter." She abruptly bowed to the chief, turned on her heel and strode towards her desk. She sat down without even casting a glance at her partner who sat adjacent to her.

Yoriko couldn't stay silent any longer and leaned towards Aoi. "Do you think this has something to do with Aki-chan's sudden decision to go back to California?" she asked her partner in the barest of whispers. They were all clearly worried about what was happening between the star duo of the traffic department. Sure Miyuki and Natsumi had their share of fights and hard times, but it was never like this.

Aoi shook her head and pressed a finger to her lips. "Don't talk about it Yoriko-chan," she advised the bespectacled woman. "This isn't something that we should meddle in." She glanced over her shoulder and spotted Nakajima worriedly looking at the two best friends. "Right Nakajima-kun?"

Nakajima didn't hear what Aoi just said. He was so worried about Natsumi and Miyuki that he was forgetting that he was due to go out on patrol. The chief had to call his attention and remind him to leave. As Nakajima got up from his seat and headed to the door, he could only wonder what truly transpired between the two partners. He hoped that it was something that could be fixed in a day or so. What he and the other officers didn't know was that the fight between Miyuki and Natsumi would last longer than any of other expected.

* * *

_**Woohoo! Another update in just a day! Hahaha! I'm fairly proud of the progress! I was just on a roll! Hehehe! I could only allow a little fluff between Natsumi and Aki because the real fluff should start in the next chapter or so. **_

_**I never intended to have Natsumi have feelings for Miyuki. Her drunken state just spurred her to act irrationally towards the end of this chapter so don't get confused. **_

_**Next chapter: Mini-Vacation and an Awkward Reunion**_


	7. MiniVacation and an Awkward Reunion

_Chapter 7: "Mini-Vacation and an Awkward Reunion_

The quiet hostility between Natsumi and Miyuki never ceased much to the worry and concern of the officers of the Bokuto traffic department. The month of April was just around the corner and it was obvious to the eye that the best friends have not forgiven each other for whatever reason. Sure, they went together on patrols, but to the practiced eye, one could see that the relationship between the two was so strained like a taut rope that it may virtually snap at any moment. They barely said a word to each other during patrols and kept to themselves at the office and outside of work.

The tense atmosphere produced by the two policewomen was so intense that it made their fellow officers at the department increasingly tense and awkward as well. Even the cool-headed Nakajima couldn't do anything to ease the tension between the two partners. Throughout the three months since Aki Walsh returned to America, he tried to talk to both Miyuki and Natsumi to figure out what was wrong, but his attempts were all in vain. At least Miyuki was nice when she brushed off his questions. Natsumi was more violent and easily incensed whenever he and Yoriko would try to pry the truth from her. Thankfully, Nakajima often managed to escape without any serious injuries although Natsumi often reduced Yoriko to tears whenever the bespectacled woman would approach. As for Aoi, she was always there to comfort and scold Yoriko for prying too much. Like everyone else, she too was worried about the situation, but decided that it wasn't in her hands to solve the problem for both Miyuki and Natsumi.

It was on a clear spring day when the chief did not arrive at work in the morning. The officers all wondered where the chief had gone and reminded each other that if the chief were to miss work, he would have called ahead of time or told them the day before. It was certainly a strange development although both Miyuki and Natsumi seemed indifferent about it. As they set to do their paperwork for that morning, they didn't notice that a black police sedan pulled up in front of the station.

A tall and lithe woman with short chocolate brown hair and serious black eyes stepped out of the sedan. She was dressed in the typical attire of a policewoman, but had several decorations pinned to her uniform. Her insignia as the assistant inspector of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department gleamed against the light blue blouse that was paired with darker blue skirt. She patiently waited outside of the car as the chief of the Bokuto traffic department got out of the car and cleared his throat.

"They're currently in the office?" the assistant inspector asked as she followed the chief inside.

The mustached man nodded. "Whatever it is that's going on between them, it's adversely affecting their work and the work of their co-officers," the chief explained. "I thought that it was one of their usual fights, but it's been three months already." He sighed and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. He was starting to get old and despite being in good shape in his late forties, he knew there was nothing he could do to stop getting older. "I deeply apologize for having to drag you into this."

Kaoruko Kinoshita shook her head and confidently strode down the hall towards the traffic department. She had indeed found it strange when the chief of the traffic department of Bokuto Station suddenly appeared at her office at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. She courteously listened to the chief as he explained the issue in his department and asked if there was anything she could do alleviate it. The assistant inspector couldn't refuse the chief and immediately came up with a plan. It wouldn't be beneficial for the TMPD if two of the capital's outstanding officers continued to be in bad terms with each other.

The chief stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath and pushed it open. As he and Kinoshita walked inside, all the police officer got to their feet and saluted their superiors. As Aoi hurried out of the department to make tea, the chief settled into his seat and gestured for Kinoshita to take the seat being offered by Nakajima, which she refused. "You may sit down," he told his subordinates, searching the room and letting his eyes rest on Natsumi. "Tsujimoto, please come here."

"Hai!" Natsumi got out of her seat and marched over to the chief's desk. She repeated her salute to the chief then saluted to inspector Kinoshita. A few years back, she worked under the formidable woman in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Her respect and awe for the older woman was very high and she would do anything the woman asked her to do. "What can I do for you Kachou, Keibuho?" she used the formal title of Kaoruko Kinoshita.

The chief eyed Natsumi seriously then quickly glanced at the other police officers who were trying to stay busy with their work, but also tried to listen in on their conversation. "I'll be frank with you, Tsujimoto," the chief said. "Your performance for the past few months has significantly dropped and I along with the higher ranked officers are worried about it."

"Kachou?"

The chief sighed and clasped his hands atop his table. "There's a two-week convention that will be held in Los Angeles, California," he started, seriously looking at the ebony-brown haired woman who stood before him. "Several countries will be participating in this convention and will be sending over a contingent of their police force."

Natsumi tried not to frown as she struggled to figure out what the chief was trying to tell her. She wasn't exactly sure why the chief was telling her this in the first place.

"Natsumi-san," Kinoshita addressed her. "What your chief is trying to say is that you will be joining me and a select number of officers in attending this international police convention." She patiently waited for the officer to react to what she just said. "We leave Monday next week." The following Monday was only four days away.

"…Kachou, are you sure that I'm qualified to participate in such a prestigious event?" Natsumi asked. She was starting to understand why the chief made this decision. He was trying to put some needed space between Miyuki and herself and give them time to settle their conflict. "I'm sure there are other people who are more qualified than me."

"You are qualified," the chief assured the green-eyed woman. "Don't forget, you temporarily worked with the Special Assault Team and was part of the office exchange program handled by the Los Angeles Police Department. You also trained for a year with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Ranger Platoon." He nodded his thanks to Aoi who served them tea. "Not to mention, you've proven yourself to be instrumental in solving many of the serious criminal cases here in the city."

"We've already discussed this with the higher ups, Natsumi-san," Kinoshita told her, sipping from her cup of tea. "Superintendent Arizuka didn't even argue when I recommended you to be part of the contingent." Actually, the imposing superintendent of the TMPD furrowed his eyebrows when he heard Natsumi's name mentioned to him and asked why she should be included. After a short explanation, he merely nodded his head and affixed his signature to the documents.

"I'm not sure," Natsumi let out.

"It's only for two weeks, Tsujimoto and besides you'll be well taken care of," the chief said, jerking his head at the smiling Kinoshita. "The assistant inspector will be with you and will act as your supervisor."

The green-eyed woman thought about it for a long moment before releasing a defeated sigh. She supposed that she could look at the seminar as a mini-vacation anyway. Besides, she did need some time off particularly from being with Miyuki. The hardly spoke to each other during patrol and when they're at home, they stay in their own rooms. She tried on several occasions to talk to her partner, but every time she gathered the courage to approach, she would chicken out at the last minute. It was reasonable though and she was sure that Miyuki still felt revolted by what she did months ago. Perhaps spending a couple of weeks and thousands of miles away would give her some peace and preparation time. "I'll do it," she finally decided.

Kinoshita nodded her head and returned the empty cup of tea to Aoi. "Your tickets, the convention agenda and the list of things you'll be expected to bring will be mailed to you by the end of the day or by tomorrow morning." She stood up and exchanged salutes with Natsumi and the chief. "I must head back to the department," she told them. "If I'm correct, the flight on Monday for Los Angeles will be leaving Narita Airport at ten-thirty p.m. and we will be arriving at the Los Angeles International Airport at six-thirty in the evening." She clapped Natsumi on the shoulder. "I'll meet with you at the airport at exactly seven-thirty." With that, she left the department.

"You're so lucky Natsumi! You're going back to Los Angeles!" Yoriko spun towards the brunette, hoping that the older woman would be nicer. "It's like you're going on a vacation!" She let out a long and yearning sigh. "Unlike us lowly police officers, you and Miyuki get to go abroad."

A vein seemingly popped out on Natsumi's forehead and that was enough of a warning to Yoriko to back off. Nakajima had to step in between them and shoo Yoriko away before Natsumi could do any damage. "T-Tsujimoto! Congratulations for getting selected to represent Japan at the international police convention!" He nervously smiled at the shorter woman, hoping that he wouldn't get beaten.

For a moment, Natsumi looked like she was going to pummel the man, but did not. She walked around Nakajima, punched him on the arm then sat down at her desk once more. If she was to stay in Los Angeles for a week, she should get an early start on her paperwork. She didn't want to arrive back in Japan to be swamped with paperwork.

"Tsujimoto," the chief called her attention from his desk. "In preparation for the convention, you'll be attending a series of talks starting the day after tomorrow. If I remember correctly, each contingent from the participating countries has to participate in mock drills." He nodded at the green-eyed woman. "Most likely you'll be making use of the skills you learned in the Special Assault Team and the JGSDF Ranger Platoon."

"Hai!" Natsumi answered.

"You will report for work tomorrow, but the day after until the day of your trip, you'll be excused to prepare for the convention. Understand?"

"Ryoukai!" Natsumi replied, noticing that Miyuki was looking at her. She looked back, but her friend quickly averted her gaze.

While Natsumi went back to work, Yoriko settled back into her chair and let out a relieved breath. She had just narrowly escaped a violent end from the herculean gorilla woman of Bokuto Station. "Aoi-chan! Do you think this is such a good idea?"

The former basketball star shrugged her shoulders. "I can't really say, but something has to be done now or else those two will never talk to each other." She glanced at her watch and got up from her seat. "Let's get going Yoriko-chan! We have patrol to do!"

"Hai-hai," Yoriko replied, arranging her things on her desk then following Aoi out of their office. Soon afterwards, Miyuki got to her feet and left the office. Nakajima watched from his seat as the routine unfolded before him. Every time Miyuki and Natsumi had to go on patrol, Miyuki would be the first to leave the office then Natsumi would follow after a few minutes. When they finished with patrol, Natsumi would be the first to arrive at the office. It was starting to get really silly, but he knew that the conflict between the two best friends was probably very serious. He only wished that one of them would tell him what's wrong.

"_A man has no place to interfere in women's quarrel," _Sena Wakabayashi, his second mother advised him when he brought up the topic on his last visit to the ZAPPER. _"No matter how much you want to help out, stay out of Miyuki-san and Natsumi-san's business. They'll figure things out eventually." _

Nakajima sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Sena made sense of course, but it's been three months already and he was worrying that their relationship would take a turn for the worse if nothing is done soon. He glanced at the chief and saw him frowning. It was easy to figure out too that the chief was concerned about two of his top officers. Perhaps his plan of sending Tsujimoto to America would help out in some way… he hoped.

* * *

The wall clock in the living room area of the apartment shared by Natsumi and Miyuki read quarter to seven in the evening. It was day of Natsumi's flight to Los Angeles and she was double-checking her luggage in the living room. For her two-week stay, she packed a heavy-duty stroller bag and a duffel bag with her clothes and personal items. Assistant Inspector Kinoshita briefed her earlier that she should bring at least two sets of her full dress uniform and another two sets of her standard uniform. For the mock drills, she was advised to bring the gear she wore while she was training with the JGSDF Ranger Platoon. When she asked if she needed anything else to bring, the formidable woman replied that she just needed to make sure that she brought her herculean counterpart.

"Looks like everything's ready," Natsumi said to no one in particular. She straightened her back and looked over her luggage. Just to be sure, she stooped down again and checked the pocket of her duffel bag where she kept her passport, her badge, wallet, cellphone and other important items. Seeing that everything was in place, she lifted the duffel bag, slung it over her shoulder and wrapped a hand around the handle of the stroller bag. Walking to the door, she paused and glanced over her shoulder. She wondered if she should say goodbye to Miyuki who was staying inside her room. A part of her was hoping that her partner would offer to drive her to the airport, but seeing that Miyuki made it a point to stay inside her room while Natsumi got ready dashed those hopes.

Shaking her head she called out a quiet goodbye, not entirely sure if she meant it for Miyuki or for their apartment. In any case, she stepped out of the apartment and headed down to the lobby by riding the elevator. Since Miyuki wouldn't be able to drive her to the airport, Natsumi had called a taxi service ahead of time. When she got outside of the building, a green taxi was patiently waiting for her. While she and driver loaded her luggage in the back compartment, Natsumi frequently glanced up the face of the building, thinking that Miyuki would be looking out the window. "I'm being silly," she murmured to herself as she let the taxi driver shut the compartment.

"Did you say something miss?"

Natsumi shook her head and got into the taxi. "Nothing… I was just talking to myself."

The taxi driver gave her a strange look as he got into the driver's seat and started the engine. "Narita Airport?" he asked. He already knew where the woman was headed, but he just wanted to make sure and follow protocol.

"Yes please," Natsumi replied, making herself comfortable in the backseat. It would take around thirty minutes to get to the airport, assuming that there wasn't any traffic. She entertained herself by listening to the radio program the taxi driver was listening to and watched the nighttime scenery that passed outside her window. It was five minutes to seven-thirty when she finally arrived at the airport. After paying the driver and grabbing her luggage, she went through the usual process of letting security check her passport and ticket, submitting herself to a body check and doing the same for her luggage. After she was cleared, she made her way to the Japan Airlines check-in counters.

"Natsumi-san!"

The green-eyed woman spotted assistant inspector Kinoshita waving at her at the First class and Executive class counter of Japan Airlines. With her were ten other people, whom she assumed came from the different branches of the Japanese military. Like her, they weren't in uniform, but were appropriately dressed in semi-formal attire. "Good evening Keibuho," she greeted the older woman with a respectful bow then bowed to the other men and women.

"You arrived just on time," Kinoshita told Natsumi with a smile. She then proceeded to introduce the traffic department officer to the other men and women in their group. One man was a highly decorated veteran from the Special Assault Team while three others were active officers of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense force. Three more represented the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and the last two came from the Tactical Organization and Special Forces of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force. "Officer Tsujimoto here is more of a jack of all trades since she's trained with the SAT and the JGSDF Ranger Platoon, and was invited to train with the prototype female motorcycle unit aside from her real work with the traffic department," Kinoshita explained to the group who seemed quite impressed with the credentials of the young woman before them. "She also participated in the police exchange program with the LAPD."

"Keibuho!" Natsumi protested, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. She wasn't used to being praised in public especially in front of high ranking officers from the different branches of the Japanese military. "Please! This is too much!"

"She's apparently not used to being complimented despite her credentials!" The man from the Special Assault Team had a laugh that resembled barking. "I've heard many stories about you though Tsujimoto-san," he said, eyes twinkling. "They say you've got the strength of tank."

The man and woman from the JGSDF nodded their heads in agreement. "Our friends from the Ranger Platoon have also told us such stories," the woman said with a grin. "There's one officer from the Ranger Platoon who's constantly complaining about his loss to you."

Natsumi blushed. She had become close to the Rangers when she spent a year of training with them in the mountains. The men had fondly called her one of the boys and frequently challenged her to eating and strength contests. "The Rangers took care of me quite well," Natsumi told the group. "And I wouldn't be the officer I am today if it weren't for the training they gave me."

Kinoshita smiled and clapped her hands to get the attention of the group. "Shall we check-in? The National Defense Secretary has generously arranged for us to fly in the Executive Class of Japan Airlines' Boeing 777-300ER plane."

The man from the SAT let out a low whistle. "Executive Class? Even though it's not First Class, it's still one of the latest cabins of Japan Airlines! The seats are huge, roomy and high-tech too!" It took nearly thirty minutes for all of them to check-in their luggage before one of the Japan Airlines staff led them into the Sakura Lounge where they could relax and wait until the boarding time of their flight to Los Angeles.

While the others went to avail of the different services in the lounge, Natsumi chose to settle herself on an empty couch. She must have had a serious look on her face because Kinoshita took a seat next to her.

"I thought that your chief was joking when he came to ask for help. I didn't think that you and Miyuki-san would be fighting with each other for such an extended period of time. The longest the two of you were fighting was a week." The assistant inspector gently smiled at the frowning policewoman. "I know that you don't want to talk about it, but maybe saying a little of it will bleed some of the pain out." She waited patiently and watched the brunette.

"I-I did something really stupid to her," Natsumi said in a soft voice. She did not intend to give the specifics, but she knew that the older woman was right. Talking a little bit about the incident would ease some of the pain. "I was… not myself when it happened and by the time I realized what I did, the act was done and Miyuki was outraged and crying."

Kinoshita nodded her head and leaned her arms against her knees. She didn't really understand what act Natsumi was talking about, but it must have been really bad to have Miyuki react that way. "Did you try saying sorry to her?" she asked.

Natsumi nodded. "Several times, but it's either I chicken out at the last minute or Miyuki runs away," she replied, remembering all her failed attempts to apologize. "I don't know if Miyuki will ever forgive me for what I did to her," she whispered, bowing her head so that the inspector wouldn't see her eyes brightening with unshed tears.

"It will come to pass," Kinoshita told the younger woman. "Think of this two-week convention as a time to prepare. You have to try to talk to Miyuki-san even if it's just a few words. It's a start at least and if you keep at it, Miyuki will eventually hear you out." She got up from her seat, walked to the refreshment table and brought Natsumi cup of orange juice. "In the meantime, I specifically asked for you to come with us to convention so that we would be able to show-off our military's skill and discipline." She smiled and wrapped a comforting arm around the green-eyed woman. "Alright Natsumi?"

Natsumi sniffed and swiped at her tearing eyes. She then looked up and smiled at the assistant inspector. "I'll do my best, Keibuho." She saluted the older woman then had to scoot over to allow other members from their contingent to sit with them on the couch.

* * *

_Five days later…_

_

* * *

_

The fourth day of the international police convention came to an abrupt end when the supposed speakers who were to give the lecture at four in the afternoon could not make it. For Natsumi and a few of the people in her group who represented Japan, she felt more relieved than annoyed. Upon arriving at Los Angeles, the Japanese contingent was brought to the Sheraton Los Angeles Hotel where all the groups sent by participating countries were housed. The hotel was specifically picked because the Los Angeles Convention Center, the venue for the event, was just an easy walk away. As expected, Natsumi and Kinoshita shared a two-bed hotel room while the other paired up to occupy other rooms.

"You should have told me that the first week of this convention would be all lectures, discussion and talks," Natsumi spoke to Kinoshita in their native tongue. Another reason why the people from their group were specifically picked was their fair skill in the speaking the English Language. While attending the talks, they all agreed only to speak in English as to not appear rude to the other participants, but when they are among themselves, they may speak in Japanese.

Kinoshita grinned at Natsumi. "I have you the agenda for the whole two-weeks so I assumed that you were informed," she reminded the youngest member of their group. While the other members of their group garnered quite a lot of attention from other participants in the convention because of their rank and position in the Japanese military, Natsumi managed to keep a low profile until her colleagues began to speak of her credentials. It was then that she became quite a popular figure especially because of her looks, young age and background. "Anyhow, we have the next two days off. We were invited to come along with the city tour, but I believe Ozora-san wishes to do something else."

"Anything is fine with me," Natsumi said, shrugging off her dress uniforms blazer and draping it on her arm. Spring in Los Angeles tended to be a little bit chilly, but wearing her full dress uniform was enough to make her feel uncomfortably warm. "What are we planning to do for tonight then?"

"Ozora-san wants to go to a bar," Kinoshita answered. The veteran SAT officer informed Natsumi during the flight that he enjoyed drinking and even challenged her to a drinking game. "Some of the others may come, but I'm assuming you'll be coming along?" The short-haired woman's eyes twinkled as Natsumi scowled at her. "I know you can't refuse alcohol."

"Oh alright! Yes, I'll be coming along!" Natsumi said in a huff. "Sheesh! You make me sound like I can't survive without alcohol!" She trudged down the street and followed her colleagues back to the hotel.

* * *

It was close to nine in the evening by the time Natsumi, Kinoshita, Ozora and three others from their group arrived at the simple bar. The establishment had a comfortable ambiance, playing soft jazz music and doing away with a dance floor. Apparently, management didn't like having wild dance parties in the bar and often told their customers that their bar was a place to drink and talk.

Natsumi had nothing against that motto and quickly settled herself in between Ozora-san and Kinoshita at the bar where they each ordered a tankard of the bar's specially brewed draft beer. The bar was filled with people, but not to the point that it was so crowded that one could suffocate. She and the hardy Ozora had their drinking game and had to call it a draw when both of them needed to relieve themselves in the bathrooms. Natsumi was on her way back to the bar when someone rammed into her side and managed to catch her before she fell to the ground.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" A blond-haired man with slight creases lining his forehead helped her back onto her feet. "I was trying to get to the bar to get a few drinks for my friends and I didn't see you coming!" He grinned sheepishly at the woman before him.

Natsumi had to crane her head backwards so that she could have a better look of the man's face. He was probably six and a half feet tall and had a distinctive accent when he spoke. She just couldn't put a finger on it and guessed that he was probably from Europe. "It's alright sir," Natsumi assured the tall man who bent down to get a closer look at her.

"You're not from here too, eh?" he asked. "By the looks of it and your accent, I'd say you're Japanese," he guessed with a smile. He stuck out his hand and dwarfed Natsumi's hand in a handshake. "I'm Dylan Schneider," he introduced himself. "I'm from Switzerland."

Natsumi returned the firm grip of the foreigner then reclaimed her hand. "I'm Natsumi Tsujimoto," she introduced herself. "I'm from Tokyo, Japan." She eyed the tall man for a few seconds before finally gathering enough nerve to ask her question. "Your accent… is Swiss?" she asked, blushing deeply when the tall man laughed.

"The language in Switzerland isn't Swiss," he patiently explained to the younger woman. "In my country, it's either you speak in German, French or Italian." He pointed at himself. "In my case, my native language is German and I suppose that's the accent that you noticed."

"Ah… So why are you here in America Dylan-san?"

Dylan looked around then towed Natsumi to a pair of vacant stools at the bar. "Vacation," he told her when they were already seated. "And I'm visiting my younger sister and her family. They migrated here to Los Angeles nearly ten years ago and it's the first time I'm visiting them." He crossed his legs and warmly smiled at the green-eyed woman. "And you? Why are you here?"

Natsumi smiled. "I'm attending a convention with several colleagues of mine."

"What kind of convention?"

"The international police convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center," Natsumi replied, seeing the Swiss man raise both his eyebrows in obvious surprise. "You're part of the police force?" he asked. Apparently, he was surprised that Natsumi was a police officer.

"I work for the traffic department of the Bokuto district in Tokyo, but I've also trained with the Special Assault Team and the Ranger Platoon of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces," Natsumi explained to the highly interested man.

"The Ranger Platoon, huh?" Dylan mused, rubbing his chin in thought. "It sounds like they also do the type of work the Swiss Alpine Rescue does." He snapped his fingers and grinned at Natsumi. "I work for the Swiss Alpine Rescue," he answered the silent question of Natsumi.

"So you're part of the air rescue?"

Dylan shook his head. "I'm part of one of the mountain units," he explained. "We do searches and rescues both on foot and in the air and I personally find myself more useful when I'm on foot." He scratched his head in thought then slapped his hand against the table. "Actually, I met mountain rescue specialist from Japan a few years back."

"Oh?" Natsumi tilted her head to the side as she listened to the older man speak. She found him deeply interesting and very friendly.

"We met in the Himalayas."

In that instant, Natsumi felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing the familiar place. "T-The Himalayas?" she repeated, telling herself that it would be too much of a coincidence if what she thought was actually true. It couldn't happen.

"He was a very promising young man and quite talented too as a mountaineer," Dylan remembered. "I remember him asking me for advice on how to propose to his girlfriend who was waiting for him back in Japan." He shook his head. "We never kept in touch after that though. I do wonder how he is now."

"Shouji…" Natsumi whispered. His name escaped her lips before she could stop herself from doing so.

"Shouji you say?" Dylan asked, clapping his hands together. "Shouji Tokairin?" He grinned and clapped Natsumi on the back when she nodded her head in confirmation. "This is such a coincidence! So you're the girlfriend he was talking about!" He glanced down at the clenched fist of Natsumi and saw the silver engagement ring. "Ah! So he did propose to you! Congratulations!" The tall Swiss man tried to catch the attention of the bartender, but ended up focusing his attention once more on Natsumi. "How is he? Has he been doing a lot of rescues in Japan?"

Natsumi had a lot of difficulty swallowing the painful lump that formed in her throat. Of all the things she didn't want to talk about, it would be anything about Shouji Tokairin. She was still so affected by his death that her eyes were already tearing up.

"Natsumi? Are you alright?" Dylan looked concerned as he looked at the suddenly forlorn woman at his side.

The green-eyed police officer forced a smile to her face. "Dylan-san… Shouji passed away nearly a year ago," she told the Swiss man in a soft voice.

Dylan looked shocked and deeply apologetic for bringing up such a delicate topic. "Natsumi, I'm sorry." He took Natsumi's hand and gently squeezed it in his own. "How did it happen?"

Keeping the smile on her face, Natsumi began to explain. "There was a storm in the Toyoma Mountains and Shouji and his team was dispatched to rescue a group of stranded mountaineers." She paused and tried to collect herself. "One mountaineer strayed from the path and while Shouji was trying to lead him away, the ground gave way. He was able to rescue the mountaineer, but the hold on the mountain's face gave way and…" she couldn't bring herself to continue anymore.

Dylan was at least very understanding and didn't force the young woman to continue her story. "It must have been very difficult for you," he told her. "Will you at least have drink with me to honor him?" He waved the bartender over and ordered two fresh tankards of beer. He and Natsumi raised their tankards in the air and toasted the fallen mountain rescue specialist then downed their drinks in one go. "Here," the Swiss man took out a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled his contact information on it. "If you need anything, just give me a call or send me an email." He handed the piece of paper to Natsumi and reassuringly smiled at her. "I must get back to my friends. It was a pleasure… no… an honor to meet you!" He shook hands one last time with Natsumi then left her alone at the bar.

Once again, Natsumi was thoroughly depressed. Talking about the death of her lover just added to the pain she currently held within her. This was too much. She went to America so that she could get herself in the right mind, apologize to Miyuki and get back to her normal lifestyle. The problem was that she was being reminded of her past and it was discouraging her from her objectives. She raised her tankard in the air and waved it. "Refill!" she shouted. She only knew one way to help her forget and she was going to do it now.

* * *

"Pssst! Hey! Isn't that Logan Walsh?"

"Huh? Where?"

"Right there! The one in the black Nike jacket!"

Aki heard the gossiping couple even if she had her headphones on. A sigh escaped her lips as she walked down the lamp-lit streets of downtown Los Angeles. The half-Irish boulderer and model was both physically and mentally exhausted after a hard day's work. Since her return to America, she hardly spent a week of relaxation with her family when her endorsers contacted her and lined her up with project after project. She was even supposed to participate in another outdoor tournament that had bouldering as one of the contests, but she had to back out because of her busy schedule.

"Why is she walking by herself at this time of the night?" the woman loudly asked her boyfriend.

"Maybe she's looking for a place to get high or something," the man replied with a laugh.

Aki wanted to turn around and set them straight, but decided to keep walking and avoid the trouble. She had recently just gotten out of trouble and did not intend to get herself into hot water again. The court hearing she attended had been an ordeal for her especially with the smug looking Damien Burdock in attendance. She was on her best behavior and as expected, she paid a fine of 3000 dollars. Burdock certainly did everything he could to milk money from her, but she knew that he was still on the losing end. Because of the video that was still circulating on the internet, the aspiring actor wasn't getting any new projects and his popularity was decreasing.

"God… I'm tired," Aki murmured to herself, turning onto a familiar side street. She just came from a night-time photo shoot with Armani and prior to that she was invited as a speaker at a local university. She was practically out the whole day that day and she couldn't wait to get back to her condominium unit and the quickest way to get there was to cut across one of the few recreational parks in downtown Los Angeles. She was leisurely walking towards the east entrance of the park when two women exited the park.

"Should we call the police?" one woman asked her friend.

"I don't think so. You get a lot of drunks like that wandering around at this time of the night."

Aki glanced at her watch and saw that it was close to three in the morning as the women disappeared into the night. Standing by the entrance of the park, she wondered if she should risk going through the park with a drunkard on the loose. In the end, she decided that she could easily avoid a drunk. She was whistling a tune to herself as she followed the path to the other end of the park when she heard a loud laugh. Frowning, the raven-haired boulderer pulled off her headphones and draped them around her neck. Another loud laugh reached her ears, which she decided to follow. Cutting across a group of trees, she spotted the supposed drunk seated on the ground and leaning against a tree.

"Stupid Americans," the drunk, a woman slurred in Japanese.

Aki raised her eyebrows in both curiosity and interest. Here she was in the heart of the bustling city of Los Angeles and she just happened to bump into a drunk Japanese woman. Since the park's lights were all turned off, she couldn't exactly see the physical features of the woman. Making up her mind that she should probably try to help, she slowly approached the seated figure and squatted down in front of her. "Are you alright?" she asked in Japanese, bringing out her cellphone so that she could use the light to have better look at the woman.

"Huh?" the woman looked up just as the light from Aki's light brightened the space between them. Dark emerald green eyes that were slightly red and hazy stared back at Aki as wisps of ebony-brown hair fell across the woman's face. "A-Aki…chan?"

Aki blinked and forced herself to close her gaping mouth. Shock was the simplest word she could use to describe how she felt at that moment. Why was Natsumi here? When did she arrive? For what purpose? Why was she drunk? She had so many questions to ask, but she knew that it wasn't the time to do that since her former escort was inebriated.

"Aki-chan…" Natsumi slurred, reaching out with her hand and pressing a hand against Aki's face. Her hand stayed on Aki's cheek for a few seconds until Natsumi smiled. "It's Aki-chan alright!" Her hand dropped and she suddenly turned to the side and started vomiting.

The sight was revolting, but Aki grabbed hold of Natsumi's shoulders and held her steady as she threw up. She felt sorry for the park staff who would have to clean up the mess the following morning, but she was more concerned for Natsumi. She pulled back Natsumi's hair away from her face as she continued retching onto the grass for a good three minutes. Seeing that Natsumi was done, the boulderer pulled out a handkerchief from the back pocket of her jeans and gently wiped Natsumi's mouth and chin. She then pressed her cool hands against the hot cheeks of the full-blooded Japanese woman and decided that she was starting to sober up.

"Mou… Aki-chan! Stop doing that!" Natsumi weakly raised her hand and tried to slap Aki's hands away, but was too weak to do it.

"You're drunk Natsumi," Aki said in a blunt voice. "It's a good thing those two women who came across you first decided not to call the police or else you would have been in a lot of trouble!" She got to her feet, hooked Natsumi under the armpits and hauled her up to her feet. Her former escort was dressed in jeans, a tight red long-sleeved shirt and sneakers. She let Natsumi lean against the tree for a while as she tried to think of what she was going to do with the younger woman. "Miyuki will kill me if I don't take care of her," Aki muttered, noticing that Natsumi heard her and suddenly looked depressed.

"Miyuki won't kill anyone but me," Natsumi slurred. She pressed a trembling hand against her eyes, her lips quivering. "I'm such an idiot," she muttered, the tears leaking out from beneath the hand pressed against her eyes. "I-I shouldn't have ever done that to her!" she blubbered.

"Natsumi… stop crying," Aki gently ordered the woman. "Come on. I'll take you home." She approached the police officer and slung her arm around her shoulders so that she could half carry and half drag her out of the park. It was a good thing that her condominium was close to the park. Natsumi didn't put up a fuss until they were just a few feet away from the park's west entrance. "Natsumi? It's alright. I'll take care of you," she gently told the woman when she stopped in her tracks and prevented Aki from towing her any further.

"I don't want you to," Natsumi muttered, pulling away from Aki. "I'm staying here."

Aki sighed and put her hands into her jacket's pockets. "Then I'll wait here," she replied patiently. _"I can wait until forever."_ She knew it was a rather empty boast, but she didn't think it would affect the drunk woman. She was wrong though. As soon as she mentioned that line, Natsumi suddenly burst into tears and started wailing. "Natsumi!" Aki exclaimed, hurriedly looking around her to check if there was anyone around. This was going to get troublesome if people heard her.

"I-I told him that," Natsumi whimpered. "I told him that I could wait until forever when he asked me to wait for him." She was starting to hyperventilate and it was getting harder and harder for her to breathe as sobs wracked her body. _"I loved him!"_

Aki shook her head and felt distressed at seeing Natsumi in this state. She had no idea how to calm her former escort down, but she had to try anyway. "I know you did, Natsumi," she tried, taking a step closer, hoping that she could grab the woman and carry her to her apartment before she could make the scene worse.

"Shouji…" Natsumi sobbed, the look in her green eyes so forlorn that Aki felt her heart pull at the sight. "Shouji… I want to continue waiting." She craned her neck backwards and looked up at the starlit sky. "But… but I don't know if I can wait any longer." She held onto the hand that had the silver engagement ring and pressed it against her chest.

"Natsumi… it's alright. I'll fix something up for you at home and you'll feel better," Aki said, hoping that she could get her to come along now.

Natsumi let out a sound that sounded like a hiccup and a sob. "I'm such an idiot," she cried out softly. She stared at Aki expectantly. "I'm an idiot right?"

Aki frowned. "You're not an idiot."

"I am one!" Natsumi shouted back.

The boulderer flinched at the loudness of Natsumi's voice. "Will you stop it, Natsumi!" she hissed. "You will never be an idiot to me!" she let out in frustration. She closed the space between them and placed both her hands on Natsumi's shoulders.

Natsumi shook her head and gave the tall raven-haired woman a hysterical smile. "I _am _an idiot," she repeated in the same slurred voice. "Miyuki will never forgive me or look at me in the same way." She let out another hiccup. "Shouji is dead and I'm still wearing… wearing this freaking ring," she continued, gripping the ring with her fingers and trying to pull it off.

"Enough Natsumi!"

"I'm so stupid for believing that if I continued to wear the ring, he would come back!" The police officer managed to pry the ring off her finger and raised it in the air as if she was going to hurl it into the darkness.

"Natsumi!"

Natsumi gripped the ring tightly in her hand and angrily swiped at the free-flowing tears coming down her face. "I wish…" she whispered. "I wish that I wasn't ali-"

This was far enough. If Aki didn't do anything, Natsumi would continue to put so much blame on herself and start claiming that it would be better for her if she wasn't alive. Moreover, if she didn't stop her, people may start to get concerned and call the authorities to handle the disturbance. Coming to a spur-of-the-moment decision, Aki did the first thing that came to her mind. It lasted for a good ten seconds and when it was over, she didn't exactly get the desired effect, but it was good enough. Natsumi had stared at Aki for a full minute before fainting into her arms and now Aki had to carry the dead weight of her former escort back to her condominium.

Not entirely sure if she would be able to properly care for the unconscious traffic department officer, Aki decided that she would take her car and bring Natsumi to her parents' suburban home. She only hoped that Natsumi would wake up remembering nothing from the previous night particularly what she did to make her shut up.

* * *

_**Another update! Hahaha! As I said, I'm just on a roll today! Hehehe! Anyhow, your questions about this chapter would probably be what Aki did to stop Natsumi from nattering. I'll leave it to your imagination. Hahaha! **_

_**Next chapter: Sobriety and Confusion **_


	8. Sobriety and a Date

_Chapter 8: "Sobriety and a Date"_

The early morning light that slipped through the blinds slowly traveled up the blanketed body of Natsumi. It was only when the light struck her face did she gradually woke up. The brunette let out a low groan as she twisted beneath the sheets. Cracking her dark emerald green eyes open, the police officer rapidly blinked to clear her blurry vision. "Ughhh… my head," she moaned out as she carefully sat up on her bed… the bed which wasn't hers to begin with. Panic rose in her chest as she looked at the unfamiliar interior of the room she was in. She was certainly not back at her hotel room. The room looked like a typical teenager's room with a study desk, posters, books, sound system, and the like. "Where the hell am I?" She swung her legs off the bed and got to her feet. A sudden stab of pain in her head made the Japanese woman flinch and press a hand against her aching head.

Blinking some more and rubbing her sleepy eyes, Natsumi look down at herself and saw that she was wearing a completely different outfit from the one she wore the other night to the bar. Gone were the jeans and the long-sleeved red shirt. Now she was wearing an oversized shirt with the words UC Berkley on the front. She wasn't wearing anything else except for her underwear underneath the shirt. "What did I do?" Natsumi muttered, wracking her mind for the answers. "And where am I? Did someone… pick me up?" She violently shook the thought away and convinced herself that if some man did pick her up, she probably would have woken up naked on the bed. She gulped and gathered her courage. If she wanted some answers, she should get out of the room and look for whoever brought her there.

Quietly pushing the door open, Natsumi stepped out into what looked to be a hallway on the second floor. The delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee, bacon and eggs wafted into the officer's nostrils, involuntarily making her stomach rumble in hunger. "Ohhh… I haven't eaten anything since early last night. She crept down the stairs and came face to face with a table filled with food.

"Ohayou Natsumi-san!"

"Eh?" Natsumi literally jumped at the sudden greeting. Turning to where the voice came from, she could only blink at the shorter woman who warmly smiled at her. "O-Ohayou?" she greeted back with uncertainty. How strange. Was it coincidence that she ended up at the home of a Japanese woman?

"How are you feeling?" The woman talked to her in Japanese and seemed like she was a native of Japan. "I know you must be having a hangover and quite confused for the moment, but getting some food and coffee into your system will make you feel better." She walked behind Natsumi and pushed her towards the laden table. "Here! Let me serve you!" The unknown woman cheerfully grabbed a plate and began to fill it with food. "Hai! Now eat up!"

Natsumi warily eyed the older woman who doted upon her before tentatively taking a fork and ferrying a piece of crisp bacon into her mouth. "Oishii…" she murmured, bowing her head in gratitude to the stranger. "Ano… I'm sorry, but who are you?"

The raven-haired woman with the distinct Japanese features blinked at her for a few seconds before breaking out into a wide smile. "How silly of me!" she exclaimed with a laugh that reminded Natsumi of the twinkling of small bells. "I didn't realize that you may not remember anything that happened last night." She stuck her hand out over the table. "I'm Yuki Walsh."

"Walsh?" Natsumi blurted out as she took Yuki's hand in her own.

"Hai!" Yuki cheerfully replied.

"T-Then you are…"

"Aki-chan's mother," Yuki answered for the very surprised police officer. "Nani? Is something wrong?" she asked the somewhat sickly looking woman.

Natsumi couldn't answer right away because several images assaulted her mind. She remembered that after having a talk with that Swiss man at the bar, she drank herself to near oblivion. Natsumi frowned as she struggled to remember how she ended up leaving the bar without being noticed by Kinoshita or Ozora. What she did remember was bumping into a pair of women at some small park and aimlessly wandering around after that. Then… someone picking her up and carrying her somewhere. Deep amber eyes that were filled with concern… she remembered that too.

"Natsumi-san?" Yuki called the young woman out of her thoughts. "If you can't remember what happened last night, don't force yourself," she gently advised the deeply frowning woman. "What I will assure you though is that you got here safely because of Aki-chan." She reached over and laid a hand over Natsumi's arm.

"So Aki… found me last night?"

Yuki nodded. "I was surprised when she arrived so suddenly at our doorstep at four in the morning carrying an unconscious you in her arms." She pressed a hand against her cheek as she gazed at Natsumi. "My husband easily recognized you though and he was the one who explained that you were her former escort back when she was still in Japan." She shook her head and glanced out the window. "Aki wouldn't really explain how she ended up bumping into you although I assume she doesn't exactly know what happened either."

Natsumi blushed, suddenly remembering that she did quite a dramatic act in front of Aki the other night. She didn't exactly remember what she said, but she was sure she mentioned Shouji and Miyuki. "Where is Aki?"

"Aki-chan? She accompanied her father to the grocery," Yuki replied. "We didn't expect to have the both of you stay over so suddenly so our refrigerator wasn't adequately stocked." She got up from her seat, fetched the steaming pot of coffee and poured a heaping cup of it for Natsumi. "They should be back any minute now," she guessed, watching as Natsumi gratefully sipped the hot beverage. "They left nearly two hours ago." She looked up and smiled as the sounds of a car engine rumbling off came from outside. "Looks like they just arrived," she said, walking to the front door and admitting her husband and daughter into the house. "Welcome back!" She stood on her tiptoes to peck her tall husband and daughter on their cheeks before claiming a couple grocery bags. "Bring those in," she ordered. "Oh and Aki-chan, Natsumi's awake."

Natsumi nervously and embarrassedly looked at Aki from her seat at the dining table. Despite the late night, the half-Irish woman looked fresh in jeans and a three-fourths-sleeved black shirt. She stood beneath the doorframe with her arms wrapped around two grocery bags. Fortunately, she didn't look at all annoyed or angry. You could say that she even looked amused. "O-Ohayou," she stammered out the greeting.

Aki sighed and placed the groceries onto the counter before taking an empty seat at the table. "How are you feeling?" she asked, taking a plate and filling it with food.

"Hung over," Natsumi put it simply.

Aki gravely nodded her head. "I could see why you feel like this," she remarked drily. "You obviously don't have a semblance of control when you drink." She nodded her thanks to her mother who poured her a cup of coffee then retreated to the other room with her husband. They obviously wanted to give the two of them privacy and time to sort things out.

"I have excellent control!" Natsumi retorted, stung by the fact that another person aside from Miyuki was scolding her for her wild drinking behavior.

The raven-haired boulderer raised an elegant eyebrow at Natsumi's claim. "Oh really? If you did have some control, I wouldn't have found you practically wasted at some park in the wee hours of morning." She held up a hand to stop Natsumi from arguing back. "Please Natsumi, arguing back would be useless since you know this yourself." She put her cup of coffee aside and lightly leaned her elbows on the table. "I don't know if I should bring this up, but since you practically blurted out a number of things the other night, I am need of some explanation."

"Aki?"

"You were almost hysterical," Aki informed the younger woman. "You don't have to explain Shouji Tokairin to me." Her piercing amber eyes locked with Natsumi's green orbs. "What I would prefer to hear is what you did to Miyuki and why she may never forgive you."

"D-Did I say that?" Natsumi nervously asked. "Are you sure? I was drunk after all and being drunk usually means that I talk a lot of nonsense." Even if she was grateful to Aki for saving her, she wasn't willing to talk about what happened between her and Miyuki.

"You're lying," Aki said in a flat voice.

"I-I'm not!"

"Then why are you stuttering and not looking at me in the eye?"

"Because there's nothing to talk about!" Natsumi shot to her feet and slammed her fists onto the table. It was a good thing she didn't exert too much force. She was certain that if she did, the table would have broken and that would have been really embarrassing since she was in another person's home.

Aki sighed and gently pulled Natsumi back into her seat. "I'm trying not to be too demanding, Natsumi," she told her. "I'm just trying to be accommodating. I'm willing to listen to whatever you have to say," she paused and seriously eyed her former escort. "After all, you and Miyuki helped me out a lot when I temporarily lived in Japan."

"But Aki-"

"Whatever it is that you did, I know that it's weighing down on you heavily." Aki crossed her arms over her chest and appeared to make herself more comfortable in her seat. "I can't assure you that you'll feel better if you tell me," she told the dark-haired woman. "But I will do whatever to make you feel at ease. It's the least I can do."

Natsumi clenched her hands into fists as she struggled to come to a decision. Does she tell Aki about how she drunkenly pushed herself onto Miyuki the night Aki suddenly left for California? It was a very difficult decision for her and she was worried about what Aki would think of her if she found out that she forcibly kissed Miyuki and that they haven't been talking for three months. "The night you left…" she began.

"You were drunk again?" Aki guessed, smiling softly to herself when Natsumi turned red in confirmation.

"Mou… what can you expect from me? You just suddenly decided to leave like that and you got me to be a bit emotional!" Natsumi defended herself. She didn't tell the amber-eyed woman before her that she was strangely and strongly affected because of Aki's sudden departure.

"Anyway?" Aki motioned the other woman to continue with her hand.

"Miyuki helped me back home and she found out that you left and had no plans of coming back," Natsumi continued, looking grimly at her hands. "The things I said to her afterwards are hazy in my mind," she said with a deep frown.

"What did you do?"

"I-I ended up kissing her," Natsumi whispered.

"You… kissed her?" Aki repeated, looking a bit shocked. "I thought you were best friends."

"We are… I mean we were I guess," Natsumi replied. "It was very impulsive of me and I don't think I meant it."

Aki frowned. "How can you say that?"

"I never once thought of Miyuki in _that_ way," Natsumi hurriedly explained, feeling rather uncomfortable with talking about this particular topic. "And as I said, I was drunk." She shrugged her shoulders and gazed out the window. "When Miyuki kicked me off and slapped me, I just came back to my senses and I seriously felt disgusted with myself."

"You're a dangerous person to be around with when you're drunk," Aki mused. "So the two of you haven't been talking since then?" The boulderer let out a long sigh when Natsumi nodded her head as an answer. "Okay… at least I now know the reason why you were so out of it when I found you."

"I wasn't that bad… was I?"

"The women you first bumped into in the park were supposed to call the police and when you started making such a ruckus, I thought the neighbors would wake up and report the incident to the police as well," Aki informed other woman without any mercy. She really intended to make Natsumi feel guilty about what she did and at the same time, she just wanted to teach her a lesson. "You were lucky that I came along."

Natsumi nodded. "I know."

"And what's the reason why you're here in Los Angeles?"

"It's still somewhat related to what happened between me and Miyuki though," Natsumi began. Throughout the next hour, she told Aki everything that happened in the three months she was gone. How she and Miyuki avoided each other, how the officers from the Bokuto traffic department were really worried about their relationship and how the chief requested for the help of assistant inspector Kinoshita who personally chose her to participate in the international police convention. "The inspector!" Natsumi slapped her forehead. "They're probably worried sick about me!"

"Here," Aki got up from her seat and fetched a nearby cordless phone and the phonebook. "What hotel are you staying at?" She flipped the book open and searched for the number of the hotel Natsumi gave her. "Dial this number," she dictated the phone number to Natsumi and watched as she asked to be connected to her hotel room.

"Keibuho? Gomen! I got roaring drunk last night and wandered off!" Natsumi flinched at the loudness of the voice on the other line. "I'm alright, Keibuho!" she told the assistant inspector. "I was lucky. Aki Walsh happened to be in the area and found me." She threw a glance at the boulderer. "I'm in her home right now." She paused and listened for the next minute or so. "Yes Keibuho. I'll report back to the hotel in two hours."

"And now you'll be needing a shower and a change of clothes," Aki said after Natsumi hung up.

"I could just wear my old clothes," Natsumi decided, looking down at the oversized shirt she was wearing. "By the way, were you the one who changed me out of my clothes?"

"I didn't want you to sleep in clothes that smelled like alcohol and vomit," Aki frankly told her. "So I got you out of your clothes and asked my mom to wash them after she woke up." She suddenly grinned. "It was a bit of an ordeal since you were moving around so much. I was supposed to put some pants on you, but it got so difficult that I decided to just let you sleep in that shirt." She raised her eyebrows in amusement when Natsumi suddenly turned red again. "What? It's as if you haven't had other women see you practically naked!" she teased.

"But still!" Natsumi argued back, trying to control the wild blush spreading across her face.

The boulderer shook her head as she got up and went into the other room. "Mom! Natsumi needs her clothes back. I'll be bringing her back to her hotel so that she could report to her superiors."

"I'll bring them up to your room," Yuki replied.

Aki reentered the dining room and took Natsumi's arm. "Come on. You could just use my bathroom." She towed her former escort back up the stairs and into her bedroom. "There are extra towels on the rack and feel free to use whatever shampoo or soap you find in there."

"Are you sure you want to bring me back to the hotel?" Natsumi asked. "You might have work today."

"I don't have work for the next few days," Aki assured the younger woman. "So you have nothing to worry about." She pushed the younger woman into her bathroom. "It wouldn't be proper for me to make you take a cab back to your hotel." She backed out of the bathroom. "I'll drive you to the Sheraton once you're ready." With that, she closed the door and left Natsumi to bathe.

"I'm really too lucky sometimes," Natsumi muttered as she stripped out of her clothing and stepped into the shower stall. "I could have ended up in jail or some other place worse if Aki didn't find me." She tilted her head back and let the warm cascade of water hit her body. Her luck though was probably running out as she showered. Assistant Inspector Kinoshita would probably court martial her if she had her way with her. The only thing she could do for now was to show up back at the hotel and try to explain. Unfortunately, Natsumi knew that it was going to be as simple as that.

* * *

She was sweating. It was the first time that she was sweating because of pure fear. Even with Inspector Arizuka, she never once felt like this. Assistant Inspector Kinoshita was an incredibly scary woman when she was incensed and this was one such time that Natsumi wished that she could just disappear.

"Officer Tsujimoto."

"H-Hai!"

Kinoshita angrily eyed the very stiff and nervous woman who stood before her. The whole time she lectured Natsumi, she remained seated in an armchair in their shared hotel room. Her anger and worry for the younger officer had gotten her so preoccupied with the blistering lecture that she hardly even noticed the indifferent-looking Aki Walsh who sat at the far end of the room. "You do realize that I have half the mind to strangle you right now," she said in a very dry voice.

"Hai!" Natsumi answered back, forcing herself to keep eye contact with the formidable woman.

Kinoshita continued to stare at the scared officer before finally letting out a sigh. "If the situation turned out differently, I probably would have strangled you to begin with and I might have sent a report back home." She shook her head and tiredly smiled. "Next time you decide to drink like that while we're here, make sure you do it with someone," she suggested, leaning to the side to look at Aki. "I'm grateful though to you Walsh-san."

Aki waved the show of gratitude off. "It was nothing and I did owe Natsumi for the service and friendship she gave me while I was still staying in Japan." She only heard so much about the assistant inspector of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Both Natsumi and Miyuki gushed that the woman was well respected and every woman on the force could approach her if they needed help. "Besides, I would have punished her too, but I decided that it wasn't in my jurisdiction to do that," she added jokingly.

"Awww! Aki!"

The boulderer frowned. "Don't 'awww Aki' me," she retorted. "I'd say that you're getting off easy this time when you should be thoroughly punished!"

"But Keibuho already has me sweating and quaking in my boots!" Natsumi whined.

"And she should probably wrap you up in a really cramp package and ship you back to Japan," Aki retorted, getting out of her seat and stretching.

Natsumi looked appalled. "Keibuho wouldn't do that!" she let out. "Besides, it would be inhumane to do such a thing! How would I be able to breathe in a cramp package?" she demanded.

"I would punch holes in to it and stick a sign that says 'live animal' on it," Kinoshita answered, covering a smile with her hand as Natsumi looked just about ready to go hysterical. "I'm teasing Natsumi," Kinoshita relented. "And I'm sure Walsh-san was doing the same." She reached over and grabbed a sheaf of documents from a nearby table. "Anyway, we have to attend the anti-terrorism forum today at the convention center," she informed the officer. "It's slated to last for the whole day with the lectures and the demonstrations." The assistant inspector glanced at her watch and frowned. "You should get ready. We have to leave in an hour or so."

Natsumi saluted to the higher ranked woman then turned to speak to Aki. "I'm sorry about this Aki," she apologized. "And I'm really grateful that you took me in and brought me back here."

"It really wasn't a problem, Natsumi," Aki replied with a gentle smile. "Well then, I should probably get going." She bowed to Kinoshita and clapped Natsumi on her shoulder. "By the way, if you have a day off from this convention, why don't you hang out with me? I'll bring you around."

"That sounds like a great idea," Kinoshita said before Natsumi could state her reply. "We actually have the day off tomorrow and I'm sure Natsumi won't enjoy going to museums and the like with us." She grinned at the sheepish-looking Natsumi. "I'm quite sure that Natsumi would like to take you up on your offer, Walsh-san." She raised an eyebrow at the dark-haired officer. "Right Natsumi?"

"Hai!" Natsumi answered cheerfully.

Even if Aki was so intent on teaching Natsumi a lesson a few minutes back, she couldn't help but smile at how ecstatic Natsumi at her offer. "I've already got something in mind for tomorrow, but I'll leave it as a surprise," she told her former escort. "I'll pick you up at nine tomorrow morning." She turned on her heel and made her way to the door, but as her hand touched the handle, she changed her mind and walked back to Natsumi. She gathered the shorter woman in her arms and briefly hugged her. She smiled at the rather surprised officer and said, "I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she left the hotel room, leaving the still surprised Natsumi and the amused Kinoshita behind.

* * *

"Tsujimoto! You're going to be late!" Kinoshita barked into the ear of the sleeping Natsumi.

"W-What?" Natsumi bolted up and rapidly rubbed her eyes. "K-Keibuho! You didn't need to shout like that!" she complained, pressing one hand against her ear and using her other hand to put some order to her rumpled hair.

Kinoshita frowned down at her subordinate and pointed at the desk clock. "You have an appointment with Walsh-san," she patiently reminded the younger woman. "I know it's your day off, but it wouldn't be polite to keep her waiting. I've already called the reception desk and they said that she's already waiting downstairs." The assistant inspector released a sigh and pulled Natsumi out of her bed. "A police officer must always be on time," she quoted. "In your case, you should try to live up to that line today since you're usually late. Now hurry up and get ready!"

"H-Hai!" Natsumi stammered, running over to the closet that kept both her clothes and her luggage bags. It took her ten minutes to shower and get dressed. She only had time to wave goodbye to Kinoshita before she ran out of their shared hotel room and managed to get into an elevator just as its doors were closing. When she burst out of the elevator, Natsumi was out of breath and did not expect Aki to be standing just a few feet away. "A-Aki!" she stammered her former charge's name out.

The raven-haired boulderer simply smiled at the brunette. "I was just about to head upstairs to check on you," she told her, still cheerfully smiling. "I figured that you were probably still sleeping."

"I wasn't," Natsumi interjected. "I just… woke up a bit late," she explained.

Aki raised one elegant eyebrow and shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever you say," she relented. "Although, I doubt that the Bokuto station officers would lie about a certain someone being the 'queen of tardiness and alibis,'" she added jokingly.

"They don't call me that!" Natsumi exclaimed, cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

"Sure sure," Aki answered back, nodding to the hotel receptionist and leading Natsumi outside. "You look nice today," she complimented, regarding the outfit Natsumi wore.

"So do you," Natsumi answered back easily. She was wearing fit jeans, a sleeveless black shirt, an unbuttoned short-sleeved white polo shirt over it, and sneakers. "I didn't really have an idea where you were going to take me so I just chose something practical," she explained, gesturing at Aki's outfit of faded jeans and a blue and white striped long-sleeved rugby shirt. "By the way you've dressed though, I could say that I hit it right on the head of the nail." The rugby shirt was modified to fit the thinner albeit well-built frame of the boulderer. Having known Aki for quite some time, she hardly even noticed that her friend wore all her distinct silver piercings and had her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. It was a typical civilian get-up of Aki when she was still living in Japan.

The amber-eyed woman chuckled. "Well, we're going somewhere fun and you'd of course have to be in comfortable clothing." She and Natsumi walked into the parking lot talking about simple things until the latter suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Natsumi? What's wrong?" Aki asked, looking in the same direction her former escort was looking at.

Natsumi gawked when she realized which car Aki was leading her to. The sleek and shiny black car would have made just about anyone envious. It wasn't a top of the line or luxury car, but a trained eye would notice that the 2007 Ford Mustang GT/CS had undergone heavy customization. The original frame had been removed and replaced with a heavy-duty frame that was sleeker in appearance while the car doors deceptively looked like normal side-hinged doors, but in fact were pulled open vertically. The size of the car and the expansive area taken up by the hood alone gave Natsumi the idea that the engine big and was probably modified too. The police officer could not see what the inside was like because of the heavy tint on all the windows, but she could pretty much guess that the inside was revamped as well.

Aki was amused at her former escort's reaction as she brought out her car keys and the attached remote. "Natsumi, close your mouth," she teased, pressing the unlock button on the remote. "I've had this car for a couple of years already. It's actually a hand-me-down from my dad since he decided to buy himself a Mercedes Benz," she explained, stepping towards her car's door on the passenger side and pulling the door up and open. "By that time, I already earned quite enough from my modeling contracts and bouldering tournaments to have it customized." The boulderer shut the door, walked around the car and got into the driver's seat only to laugh at how Natsumi resumed gawking at the interior of her car.

"How much did you exactly spend for customizing this car?" Natsumi demanded, her emerald green eyes widely looking at the interior of the car and at Aki. The seats and the upholstery were custom-made to provide both comfort and a cool aesthetic feel. Practically everything on the dashboard was digitalized. Aki had the latest and possibly one of the best quality sound systems, a ten-inch miniature screen for the GPS and for the automatic parallel parking system, and other entertainment equipment. There were a variety of controls on the car's steering wheel and Natsumi could only assume that the safety system of Aki's car had also been tampered with to give the best protection. "Miyuki would absolutely drool at this set-up!" She instantly regretted what she just said for she was reminded about her strained relationship with her partner.

"When you get back to Japan, you should really try to fix things between the two of you," Aki suggested, steering her mustang out of the hotel's parking lot and driving towards the highway. "Anyhow, do you want to find out where we're going today?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out two tickets. "I hope you don't mind," she said sheepishly as Natsumi took the tickets and looked at them. "My mom got a couple of complimentary tickets from there and made me take them since doesn't like amusement parks."

"Knott's Berry Farm?" Natsumi glanced at her friend. "How can a farm be an amusement park?" she asked in confusion.

Aki laughed. "I don't think their farm is there anymore, but the amusement park is there alright with all the rides, attractions and the like." They were cruising down the freeway and would arrive at their destination in ten minutes. "You won't need to worry about it being crowded today," she assured her companion. "The kids are all in school so it should be relatively empty."

Natsumi grinned. "You mean we don't have to worry about long lines right?" A towering structure seen off the freeway caught her eye. "What is that?" she asked in awe, pressing her face against the window.

"One of the rides," Aki replied. "It's a vertical drop ride called the Supreme Scream." She drove the car off the freeway and followed the signs that would lead them to the park's parking lot. As expected, there were hardly any people as seen with the sparse parking lot setting. "Come on," she urged Natsumi after claiming a nearby parking space and turning off the engines. "The gates should be open by now." Both women walked side by side as they crossed the parking lot and headed to the entrance of the park. As they stood in the short line, Natsumi filled Aki in about what had happened in the anti-terrorism conference the other day. They spoke to each other in Japanese, which garnered them unwanted attention from the people queuing with them. There even a few who were bold enough to casually stroll by the pair particularly to confirm their suspicions that one of the women was the Logan Walsh.

Finally, one woman approached the pair and interrupted their conversation. "I'm sorry, but my daughter here," she gestured at the young teenage girl by her side. "She pointed you out and was gushing about how you were her idol, but she's too shy to approach you so I brought her over." She smiled up at the tall raven-haired woman who didn't look at all surprised or annoyed. "Would it be alright if she could have her picture taken with you?"

Aki smiled and motioned for her young fan to stand beside her. "I don't mind at all," Aki told both the mother and daughter. "So which part of me are you a fan of?" she asked the teenage girl, putting a friendly arm around her and smiling at the camera held by the very happy mother. "The model, the boulderer, or the runaway that tried to hide and make a living in Japan?" she joked, garnering herself a cheerful grin from the young girl.

"I admire all, but I mostly admire the boulderer," the girl replied sheepishly. After several pictures were taken, she brought out a permanent marker and offered it to Aki. "Can I ask for your autograph?" she shyly asked.

Aki laughed. "Sure, where would you want me to sign?" She laughed some more as the girl pointed at her t-shirt. "What's your name?"

"Karen."

"To my fan Karen," Aki dictated as she wrote the short dedication on the girl's shirt and put her bold and slashing signature. "There you go. Enjoy your trip here at the park," she told both the mother and daughter and led Natsumi to the turnstile where they surrendered their tickets then entered the amusement park.

Natsumi playfully elbowed her friend. "I didn't realize that you had such a young fan base," she teased, chuckling to herself when Aki blushed. "I also didn't expect you to be so amiable towards your fans. Some celebrities are just downright snobs." She had encountered quite a few celebrities who were like that in Japan. Thankfully, she never really had to deal with them personally. Her emerald green eyes suddenly twinkled as she caught sight of the popular characters from a comic. "Snoopy!" Natsumi ran over to the statue and posed. "Take a picture of me Aki!"

"Alright alright," Aki answered, reaching to the camera bag hanging on one of her belt straps. She had improvised and used one of her titanium carbiner to securely attach her camera to herself. She recently received a free black Canon Digital IXUS 100 IS after completing a modeling contract with the Canon company. All she did was advertise the same digital camera model and the company decided to give her one as part of her payment. "Say cheese," she called out to Natsumi who posed with the famous beagle from the Peanuts comics. "Come on, I want to go on some of the rides already."

Natsumi pumped her fist in the air and cheerfully skipped alongside Aki as they went deeper into the park to look for the first of the extreme rides. "Oh! Let's go on that one!" She pointed at a red rollercoaster.

"Montezuma's Revenge? Sure! This was the first extreme ride I rode here in the park when I was still a kid." She and Natsumi went to the ride's entrance to find that there weren't people in line.

"Morning!" One of the ride's attendants approached them and motioned for them to pick which seat they wanted to get into. "Please make sure that all your loose items are secure or if you wish, you could hand them to us and we will return it once the ride is over."

"Front! Front!" Natsumi exclaimed as she ran ahead of Aki and jumped into the front car. "Aki! Hurry up!" she exclaimed in Japanese.

Aki shook her head. "I feel like I'm with a kid," she muttered to the attendant who only chuckled at her. "Move over," she ordered as she slipped into the front car with Natsumi and buckled up. "By the way, this isn't the type of ride that uses gravity to propel the roller coaster," she informed her escort.

"Eh? Then how is this coaster going to mo-" The rest of her question got drowned out by her scream as the roller coaster suddenly shot forward like a bullet, the wind buffeting their bodies. Montezuma's revenge only had one big loop, but the main thrill of the ride was the slingshot start. "You should have warned me!" Natsumi punched Aki hard on the arm as they exited the attraction.

"But I did," Aki calmly replied, rubbing her afflicted arm. "Don't be such a baby, there's an even better roller coaster here that's similar to it."

"Let's ride that one next!" Natsumi hooked her arm around Aki's arm and dragged her to the next ride.

Aki shook her head, but struggled to keep up with the brunette anyway. "Slow down! We got the whole day and there's hardly anyone here!"

"Hurry up already!" Natsumi cried out excitedly. She was definitely acting like a little kid again. After all, she hasn't been to an amusement park in some time and it was her first time in one that was in another country.

* * *

It was a few minutes after two in the afternoon when Natsumi finally bowed out and asked Aki if they could go on a break. For the past few hours, they rode at least half of the rides twice. The remaining rides were a several more extreme rides and some other more basic attractions.

"What do you want to eat?" Aki asked as she and Natsumi went in search of food concessionaires.

"Hmmm…" Natsumi looked around and peered at the various food stands and small restaurants around her. "Oh! Hotdogs!" The police officer pointed at a hotdog stand surrounded by several tables and chairs. "Let's just have that then look for a place where we could have dessert." She linked their arms together again and dragged the raven-haired woman towards the stand.

"Welcome!" The hotdog seller greeted the pair of women with a cheerful smile. His eyes widened when they settled on the tall amber-eyed woman. "Well this must be my lucky day!" he remarked, sticking out his hand. "May I shake your hand, Logan?"

Aki smiled and firmly shook hands with him. "I was hoping that I could spend the day without being recognized or mobbed," she told the man jokingly. "Well, at least I haven't been mobbed yet." She couldn't help but grin when the hotdog seller laughed heartily.

"Anyway, since you have given me the honor of shaking your hand and dining at my modest stand, what can I get for you and your friend?"

"I'll have a beef hotdog with the works and a large lemonade," Aki ordered, glancing at her companion who was intently reviewing the menu. "As for my friend, I believe I'll let her do the ordering and I'm quite sure she'll make you very happy."

"Huh?" The man glanced at the lithe and shorter woman with dark-brown hair. If he understood Logan right, she just hinted that her friend would be ordering a lot. She certainly didn't look like a heavy eater though.

Natsumi looked away from the menu and gazed at the hotdog seller with a hungry look in her emerald green eyes. "I'll have two of those beef hotdogs, one German frank, two chicken hotdogs, two servings of fries, one order of chili fries, and two large iced teas," the off-duty police officer dictated without taking a second breath.

Aki smothered a laugh as the hotdog seller goggled at the foreign woman and had to clear his throat a few times before he was finally able to ask Natsumi to repeat her order. "She really eats that much," she assured the seller, taking her wallet and handing him a hundred dollar bill.

The man shook his head. "I should be happy I suppose," he said, motioning for the two women to seat themselves at one of the nearby tables. "I'll bring the food over when it's ready."

"You really surprised him," Aki softly told Natsumi as they sat down. "Just one look at his face and I knew that he was thinking that you couldn't possibly eat that much." She was smiling in amusement as she leaned back against her chair and pulled out her pair of sports shades. The sun was finally out from under the day's cloud cover and a large crowd of people was coming their way so Aki put the shades on.

Natsumi laughed. "I'm an athletic and active police officer!" she reminded her companion. "I need to eat to stay active!" She noticed that the raven-haired woman seated before her was wearing shades. "Why'd you wear shades all of a sudden?"

"The sun," Aki replied simply then jerked her head at the crowd of people coming their way.

Natsumi subtly looked at the crowd and nodded her head in understanding. The park wasn't crowded since many people were either at work or at school, but there was still a significant number of people in the park who would be able to recognize Aki. "Keep talking in Japanese so that they'll think that we're just tourists," Natsumi spoke to Aki in her native language.

"But we've been talking in Japanese since this morning," Aki joked half-heartedly but heeded the suggestion of Natsumi. "It'll be troublesome if they recognize me." She eyed the passing crowd through her tinted shades and tried to look unassuming. "We'll be running away and trying to escape if that happens." She let out a breath when the crowd passed without even casting the pair of women a second glance.

"Here's your food," the hotdog seller approached their table and laid out the lavish selection of food. "I'll have to drag over another table so that all the food and your drinks can fit." After doing so, he told the women to enjoy their meal and went back to manning his stand.

"Well, dig in," Aki told her companion who immediately started to devour her food. While Aki took her time eating her beef hotdog, Natsumi made short work of her food and finished a few minutes ahead of her. "Don't you get indigestion eating that fast?"

"Rarely, but I'm quick to get over it," Natsumi replied, wiping her mouth with a paper napkin. "Anyhow Aki, I've been meaning to ask you something, but I've never gathered enough courage to ask," she told her former charge.

"What is it?"

"Have you ever been in a relationship?" Natsumi flatly asked, gazing at Aki with firm resolve in her green eyes.

Aki raised both eyebrows at the police officer. "W-Why do you ask?" she stammered, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

"You've never mentioned ever having a love life and the media certainly has not caught wind of any relationship you've been in," Natsumi pointed out. "I just find it hard to believe that someone as pretty as you can go without a boyfriend for all these years!" She gestured at Aki for emphasis. "You're what? Twenty-eight?"

The boulderer sighed. "Is it that important to you?"

Natsumi blinked and shook her head vehemently. "N-No! It's not important! I was just curious!" Natsumi interjected hurriedly. "Well? I find it a bit unfair that you know so much about me, but I don't know so much about you aside from your career, family and Selene."

"Oh alright," Aki let out with a defeated sigh. "I was in a relationship before."

"How come no one knew about it?"

The raven-haired woman frowned. "My parents knew…" she said hesitantly. "And Selene knew," she added, her voice tinged with sadness. "It was a long time ago, Natsumi."

The dark-haired woman screwed her face up in reaction. "I still want to hear about it and how come Selene knew about it?"

"Because it happened nearly ten years ago," Aki patiently explained. "I was just a freshman at UC-Berkley and there was this junior who courted me." She shook her head at the memory. "He was a nice man I suppose, but I just didn't…" she paused and looked away. "I just didn't feel anything." The amber-eyed woman sighed again and tapped out an indiscreet tune on the table with her fingers. "Selene used to accuse me of being cold-hearted and disinterested with love. She said that I was more in love with my bouldering career and academics." Aki shook her head again, her eyebrows furrowing. "She was right back then."

"What do you mean you didn't feel anything when you were with that guy?"

"How should I explain this?" Aki murmured, pushing her shades up the bridge of her nose. "When I agreed to date with him, I kept telling myself that maybe I was just taking a long time to warm up to him. As I said, he was a nice guy. He was smart, good-looking, came from a good family and very gallant. Actually, he was a heartthrob at the university and people kept saying that I was lucky to be pursued by him." Even through the tinted sports shades, Natsumi could see that Aki was uncomfortable with talking about the topic. "It took me almost a year to realize that there just wasn't anything there," she told her friend. "So I broke it off with him and since then, I haven't been in a relationship."

Natsumi nodded her head, completely understanding the side of Aki. "So no one has caught your eye yet?" she asked, catching the half-second of hesitance on Aki's face. "Aha! So someone has caught your eye!" she exclaimed. "Tell me now!" she ordered.

"There's nothing to say," Aki calmly said. "There's no one Natsumi. I am quite content being single."

"You're lying," Natsumi said in a singsong voice.

"Whatever," Aki muttered, suddenly getting to her feet. "You can stay here and accuse me for all I care while I go to the arcade." She strode away.

"Awww! Aki!" Natsumi cried out. She got to her feet, nodded thank you to the hotdog seller and ran after the taller woman. "I was just teasing! Don't be angry!" she shouted at Aki's retreating back. It took her a few more seconds to finally catch up. "Aki!" She grabbed Aki's wrist and forced her to stop. "Please!"

The boulderer sighed and went limp. "Sorry," she apologized. "I shouldn't have just abruptly left you like that." She gave her friend a shaky smile. "I was reminded of how the reporters and paparazzi would grill me." She gently pried Natsumi's hand off her wrist. "Everything is fine now," she assured the Japanese woman at her side. "How about playing a little bit at the arcade before we finish riding all the other rides?"

For a moment, Natsumi worriedly looked at the taller Aki then she broke out in a smile. "That would be fun!" With that, she and Aki walked arm in arm to the nearest arcade.

* * *

"It's close to dinner already," Aki remarked as she looked up at the darkening skies. It was past five in the afternoon and both women were starting to tire from spending the day at the amusement park.

Natsumi sighed and crossed her arms over her chest as a chilly breeze passed over them. "I guess we should get going," she said a little bit sadly. After spending her day off with the famous Logan Walsh, she realized that this was the most fun she had in quite a long time. In actuality, she also realized that spending time with the kind raven-haired woman was very fulfilling.

Aki shook her head at Natsumi and grinned.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Natsumi demanded.

"There's still one more ride we haven't gone on," Aki informed her then pointed at a ride that looked like a large water slide except that the drop was nearly vertical. "It wouldn't be a complete day at the amusement park if we don't get on a water ride," she explained, towing Natsumi to the Perilous Plunge entrance.

Natsumi looked excited, nervous and hesitant. "We're going to get wet, aren't we?" she asked, but already knowing what the outcome of the ride was going to be. "I didn't bring a change of clothes."

Aki shook her head. "I have towels and extra shirts back in my car," she told her friend. "I always keep spare shirts and towels in my car because I often head to the rock-climbing facility to work out." By the time she finished her explanation, they were already being strapped into their seats on the vessel.

The brown-haired police officer took in a rather shaky breath. "I'm not so sure about this."

"What? We rode all the other extreme rides here and you pick this one to be scared of?" Aki laughed as the vessel made its way up the steep incline. "The Supreme Scream is scarier than this ride!" She grinned as they topped the rise and slowly floated to the top of the almost vertical drop. "Ready?" she asked.

"Do I really have a choice?!" Natsumi managed to shout out before gravity did its work and made the vessel slide to the water below in a mere three seconds. As their vessel sped through the wave and spray of water generated by the impact on the water below, Natsumi and Aki as well as the other riders were thoroughly soaked. She spat out water from her mouth and turned to glare at Aki. "You never said that we'd get this wet," she growled.

Aki merely grinned at her friend and helped her out of the vessel when it reached the platform. "What's the point of riding a wet ride if you don't get wet?" The boulderer led the police officer across the bridge that overlooked the drop zone and wrung water out of her hair and her clothes. "Anyway, I have towels and extra clothes in the trunk of my car. We could get changed there and we could have dinner somewhere afterwards."

The reply Natsumi had for Aki was a series of sneezes. She was starting to get cold especially since the California weather tended to become chilly in the late afternoons and evenings. She just finished sneezing for a fifth time when she suddenly felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her against a wet, but somewhat warm body. Natsumi turned and looked up into the concerned face of Aki. "I'm alright," she assured the raven-haired boulderer. "I'm just a little cold." She leaned closer to Aki in an attempt to get warmer.

The frown on Aki's face didn't disappear despite the assurance Natsumi gave her. "You feel like a block of ice," Aki remarked in a flat voice. "Come on, let's hurry to the car and get you changed." They hurried across the park and towards the exit. When they reached Aki's mustang, Natsumi waited patiently as Aki pulled out a small duffel bag from the trunk. "Here," she said, handing Natsumi a shirt and jogging pants. "Go into the car and change. Take off all your clothes and put them into this bag."

While Natsumi got into the car and peeled off the wet clothes from her body, Aki stood guard by the car and watched as the sun descended on the horizon. As Natsumi shivered while changing into the dry clothes, she subtly gazed at the half-Japanese woman. For a moment, a vague memory of lips pressed onto hers and the sudden surge of warmth through her body filled her mind. "Am I hallucinating?" Natsumi shook the thought away. For the past few days, the same vague thought would play out in her head whenever she would think about or see the raven-haired boulderer. It was weird of course and she thought that she was just being silly. In fact, she even believed that the vague thought came about because Aki probably reminded her somewhat of Shouji in terms of appearance and their skill of scaling mountains or boulders in the case of Aki.

"Done?" Aki asked as Natsumi stepped out of the car and gestured for Aki to get changed herself.

One thing was for sure, Natsumi couldn't deny the fact that a wave of giddiness and warmth overwhelmed her whenever the vague memory played in her head. Actually, she was starting to wonder if the giddiness and warmth was caused by just looking at Aki since the vague memory was always spurred by simply looking at or thinking of the boulderer.

"Natsumi? You could get in now," Aki said after rolling down the car window. "Let's head back to my condominium so that we could dry your clothes." She warmly smiled at her friend and drove the car out of the parking lot. "I'll also make you dinner and afterwards, we could share a few drinks before I bring you back to the hotel. Sounds good?"

The dark-haired police officer smiled back. "Sounds good," she agreed, pushing back her conflicting feelings and thoughts to the back of her head. There was another thing she was sure of at least… she felt content and happy whenever she was spending time with Aki.

* * *

_**Here's the next chapter! Hurrah! I didn't think I'd take this long, but it did since I've been quite busy again with school work. I still have a couple of papers to finish and there's still my thesis presentation and defense to worry about. Rest assured, after all the work is done, I'll be able to focus more on creating new chapter for this story in a more timely manner.**_

_**Next chapter: Realization and a Confession**_


	9. Confession

_Chapter 9: "Confession"_

"Keibuho?"

"What is it Natsumi?"

The policewoman swallowed hard as she gathered enough courage to make her odd request. It was the morning of their last day in Los Angeles California. The Japanese military contingent was scheduled to fly back to their country the following morning. Natsumi was happy that the convention was finally going to end that day, but there was a certain sadness pulling within her and she knew exactly why she was feeling that way. "Keibuho," she began after taking in a deep breath. "I was wondering if you could release me from today's convention activities."

Kaoruko Kinoshita looked over the top of the newspaper she was reading to look at her underling. It was a bit strange for Natsumi to be so nervous when she asked for something from her. "You want to skip today's activities?" she clarified, keeping the look on her face straight and unassuming.

"No no Keibuho!" Natsumi hurriedly let out. "I meant that if you could release me from today's activities at an earlier time. Maybe at around three in the afternoon if possible," she added, hoping that her superior would give her permission. "I would still attend the morning and early afternoon sessions," Natsumi assured the older woman.

Kinoshita calmly folded up the newspaper, placed it on a nearby table then set her clasped hands atop her lap. "And your reason for making this request?"

"Well Keibuho," Natsumi started, emerald green eyes sparkling. "We're going back to Japan early tomorrow morning and that means there won't be time for me to say my goodbyes on that day," she explained.

"Does this have something to do with Walsh-san?"

Natsumi nodded. "She's done so much for me during our short stay here in Los Angeles." The policewoman rubbed the side of her arm as she reminisced the time she spent with the famous model and boulderer. "I was thinking that I should do something for her in return before we go back to Japan."

"That sounds alright," Kinoshita agreed. "You could get off at three in the afternoon to do whatever you want with Walsh-san." She smiled and put her hand up to stop Natsumi from jumping on her and giving her a crushing hug. "Have you contacted her yet?"

Natsumi shook her head. "I'm going to right now." She skipped towards the phone and dialed the cell phone number of her former charge. "Aki?" she spoke into the phone. "Are you free this afternoon?" She paused and listened for a few seconds. "Four onwards? That's great! I was wondering if we could go out for dinner or something?" A genuine smile graced her face. "Don't worry, it's my treat! You just have to pick the restaurant! Okay then! I'll see you later."

"I hope you brought enough money," Kinoshita told the younger woman. "You'll have to exchange your yen for dollars if you're really going to treat out Walsh-san."

Natsumi paused to think about what her superior just said. "I think I have enough."

"Even if you think you have enough, it would still depend on Walsh-san," Kinoshita pointed out. "If she picks an expensive restaurant, then surely you won't have enough money to pay the bill."

Natsumi groaned. "I don't think Aki's that inconsiderate."

"Well, I hope you're right," Kinoshita told Natsumi. "Now hurry and get dressed. The first activity the last day of this convention are the military demonstrations. You're going to be involved in a number of demonstrations particularly since you've trained with the JGSDF Ranger Platoon."

"Ryokai!" Natsumi briskly saluted the higher-ranked officer then proceeded to get dressed.

* * *

"I look mighty fine," Natsumi mused as she looked at herself in the mirror. At exactly three in the afternoon, the youngest member of the Japanese contingent made her excuses and left the convention. She had agreed with Aki that the latter would just pick her up back at the hotel. It was still a little bit too early to have dinner so Aki requested if Natsumi could accompany her first to a quick photo shoot. Being the polite person she is, Natsumi easily agreed. Glancing at her watch, she murmured, "Aki might arrive at any moment now." Checking if she had everything she needed in the small purse she was carrying, the police officer left her hotel room and headed down to the lobby.

As expected, the raven-haired boulderer was already parked at the front of the hotel and waiting for her former escort. "I didn't wait long if that was the question you were going to ask," Aki said as Natsumi boarded the Mustang.

Natsumi rolled her eyes and lightly punched her friend's arm. "A normal greeting would have sufficed," she scolded the grinning woman beside her. As usual, Aki looked dapper in fitted jeans, an off-white polo shirt, black chino jacket with stylized sliver designs, and urban loafers. "I did tell you that we're heading back to Japan tomorrow morning, right?"

Aki nodded as she kept her eyes on the road. "You mentioned it, but you didn't specifically say what time your flight was leaving." She quickly tapped out coordinates on the GPS system on the dashboard then settled back in her seat. "Have you done your shopping?"

"I have, but I still haven't bought something for Miyuki yet."

"Is it supposed to be something that acts as a souvenir and an apology?"

Natsumi nodded. "I still haven't figured out how I'm going to apologize to her yet," she admitted to her former charge. "I was talking to Nakajima-kun the other day and he was insisting that Miyuki is going to pick me up at the airport when we arrive." She shook her head. "I hardly believe that his claim is true, but if Miyuki does show up at the Narita Airport, I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Just say sorry and that you never meant to take advantage of her like that," Aki suggested. "The two of you haven't been talking to each other for months now," she pointed out. "I'm quite sure that Miyuki has been thinking about how she's going to make up with you too during that time." She reached over and patted Natsumi's clenched hands. "If you do manage to buy an apology gift for Miyuki, I think that will considerably help too."

"You think so?"

Aki smiled. "I know so." After another ten minutes of driving, Aki pulled up in front of a two-story studio and shut off the engine.

"What kind of photo shoot is it going to be?" Natsumi asked out of curiosity. Even though Aki was her friend, she still could not help but feel awed whenever she was in the presence of the woman. The raven-haired boulderer was so humble and down to earth despite her rising celebrity status. She supposed that it was because of those characteristics that Aki had a rather endless supply of job offers.

"Ray-Ban," Aki simply replied, she broke into a grin when Natsumi once again goggled at her. "What?" she demanded, amusement clearly twinkling in her amber eyes. "It's just shades!"

"Not just any shades!" Natsumi pointed out. "God, I wish I could have a pair, but my hard earned salary from being a public servant goes to my living expenses." She ruefully sighed. Sometimes, she wondered how she would have ended up if she chose a different career path. One thing was for sure, she would have definitely picked a job that had less demanding work hours and had more digits in the salary. Of course, things were easier said than done.

Aki smiled sympathetically at her companion. "I'm sure things will turn out better in the future," she assured her. "Didn't the compensation from being my escort do much?" She was quite sure that she and her father settled on rather hefty amount of money to pay the two police officers for their services.

"Actually, that's another concern I wanted to bring up with you," Natsumi said, feeling a bit embarrassed that she had to be the one to say this. "Miyuki and I received the initial down payment when we accepted to act as your escorts while you were still in Japan," she began the explanation. "But the rest of the agreed sum hasn't been deposited into our separate accounts." She worriedly watched as the boulderer deeply frowned.

"How strange," Aki murmured. "Perhaps my father innocently forgot about it." She smiled at Natsumi and shook her head to reassure her companion that she didn't take any offense from Natsumi's query. "You see, I allowed my father to take care of the expense of hiring escorts and in turn, he also took the responsibility of wiring your payments," she explained, as she and Natsumi got out of the car and headed inside the studio. "I suppose it's partly my fault for abruptly deciding to head back here." She greeted back the receptionist then led Natsumi to a couch while the former left to fetch the photographer. "I told my father back then that I was probably going to stay in Japan for a year so he probably scheduled your next payment on a later date."

"So it's possible that he just forgot?"

Aki nodded. "Most likely," she replied. "He's not the type of person to purposely forget about the payment. He does have principles." She stretched her long and muscled legs out in front of her while she crossed her arms over her chest. "The only logically explanation I can offer then is that my father's memory is waning."

Natsumi laughed. "Well, parents are bound to do that especially when they are nearing the senior citizen's age." She and Aki chuckled at this fact as the photographer and a representative from Ray-ban approached them.

"Logan, it's a great pleasure to meet you," the rather petite woman with highlighted blond hair greeted the boulderer. As Aki expected, any person working for Ray-Ban would sport a pair of its high-class and expensive shades. This particular woman had it hanging around her neck. "We're expecting this shoot to last for around half an hour, so hopefully we won't be taking up too much of your time." She leaned around the tall athlete and gazed at the dark-haired female companion of Aki.

"She's Natsumi," Aki introduced her friend with a smile. "She's a friend of mine from Japan and we're going out for dinner after this shoot."

The representative from the company eyed the green-eyed woman some more. "She looks rather familiar," she said.

"I suppose you've seen her in some of the pictures of me in Japan," Aki said. "As I said, Natsumi is from Japan and she's here in Los Angeles to attend an international police and military convention." She could see the realization form in the shorter woman's face. "While I was still in Japan, my father hired escorts for me." Gesturing at Natsumi with a smile, she said, "Natsumi here was one my escorts."

"Ah yes! I remember now," the woman let out. "She was one of the two ladies in suits following you around." She warmly smiled at Natsumi then ushered both women inside. "As you already know, we're just going to take several pictures of you modeling a couple of the chosen Ray-Ban shades."

"Just a couple?" Aki quickly glanced at her former escort and twitched her eyebrows.

"Well, maybe around five pairs," the woman rephrased her previous answer. "As for the terms of payment, we'll wire the agreed amount to your account by the end of the day."

Suddenly, an idea lit up in Aki's head. With a coy smile she gave to Natsumi, she set to work on the Ray-Ban representative. "I was wondering what ever happens to the shades you use for your photo shoots." While Natsumi made herself comfortable on a nearby armchair, Aki submitted herself to a light make-up session. Fortunately, the Ray-Ban employees thought that Aki didn't need to change out of her attire.

"Well, since they've been taken out of its packaging, we can't exactly put it back on the shelves," the representative replied, briskly giving directions to the make-up artist, the photographer and the assistants.

Aki flashed a wink at a confused Natsumi. "And what happens to the shades?"

"Most of the time they go into storage. The rest of the time, they end up in the hands of our employees." Nodding at the work of the make-up artist, she then led Aki to the stark white backdrop that was surrounded by lights. She then handed the tall raven-haired woman a pair of aviator shades, a trademark style made famous by the company. "Alright, now pose!"

Natsumi watched for the next twenty minutes and hid a smile whenever Aki would subtly roll her eyes whenever the photographer or the woman from the company would step in and move her about. It vaguely reminded Natsumi of a little girl playing with her Barbie doll. Another ten minutes later, the woman called a stop to the shoot.

"About those shades," Aki suddenly let out as the assistants collected the equipment and props. "I was wondering if I could have those instead of putting them into storage or giving them away to other people."

"All five pairs?" the woman questioned, unsure of how she should react to the odd request of the famous boulderer.

"If you don't mind," Aki replied with a charming smile. "Think of it as additional advertising, but it completely free of charge."

The Ray-Ban representative beckoned one of the assistants to bring her the five pairs of shades in its respective cases. "Well, I doubt the higher-ups will be looking for them." She placed the shades into a small paper bag and handed it to Aki. "Thank you for your work today. You can expect your payment by the end of today."

Stretching her arms to the ceiling, Aki walked over to Natsumi who got to her feet. "Shall we go then?" She playfully offered her arm for her to hold onto.

Natsumi stared first at the offered arm then at Aki's face before bursting into laughter. "Since when have you become so gentlewomanly?" In any case, she took the offered arm and allowed Aki to lead them out of the studio and back into her Mustang. "What are you going to do with all those pairs of sunglasses?"

"They're for you," Aki simply replied, starting the powerful engine and pulling away from the curb. Before Natsumi could voice out a cry of objection, Aki covered her mouth with her hand. "It's a gift from me for letting me have such a good time in a long while," she explained, taking her hand away and smiling. "Look at it this way, you could give a pair to each of your friends."

"That would be Miyuki, Aoi and Yoriko," Natsumi pointed out, still objecting the great generosity of her former employer.

Aki grinned. "Well if you include yourself, that's four of the shades already accounted for." She eased the muscle car to a stop upon reaching an intersection. "I was thinking you could give a pair to Nakajima-san, but then again he probably has a really high grade for either of his eyes." She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'll leave it to you on who should get the remaining pair."

Natsumi shook her head as she clutched the bag tightly. "This is too much Aki," she tried although knowing deep inside that Aki would not take no for an answer. "Each pair is maybe a hundred-fifty dollars and with the kind of salary that I have, I can't afford it." As a typical woman employed under the protection service industry in Japan, her average monthly salary was roughly 75,000 yen or 820 US dollars. As she told Aki earlier, she spent most of her salary on living expenses and therefore didn't have the luxury of splurging on material things.

"Who says that you're going to pay for it?"

"But-"

Aki shook her head and refused to prolong their conversation. "Now about dinner," she said, eying her passenger with the corners of her piercing amber eyes. "Did you have anything in mind?"

Her jaw literally dropped open as she stared at the boulderer in shock. "I thought I told you that you'd be the one picking."

"You did?" Aki scratched the back of her head then gave Natsumi an apologetic smile. "I seem to have forgotten about that." In any case, she steered the car onto a side street then carefully parallel-parked it along the curb. "Well, I want Japanese," she decided as she they got out of the muscle car. She towed Natsumi down a narrow alleyway where they saw a neon sign sporting Japanese characters. "It may look like a secluded and cheap place from the outside, but it's quite popular," she told her friend.

"A sushi bar?" Natsumi asked as they slipped inside to be cheerfully greeted by Japanese employees. She was a little bit surprised that the establishment employed fellow Japanese persons, but she understood the logic. They chose a corner table to sit at and made themselves comfortable. "Now that I think about it, I do miss eating Japanese food," she mused, feeling distinctly aware that their table was so small that their legs were lightly pressing against each other. It was… cozy and awkward in a way.

Aki let out a deep chuckle as she waved a waitress over. "So I picked right then?" Taking two menus from the waitress, she handed one to Natsumi before poring over the contents of the other. "I'll have the special sushi combination platter," she decided, then ordered a batch of heated sake for the both of them. While Natsumi narrated her lengthy order, the amber-eyed woman managed to hold back a laugh as the waitress ogled at how much food the dark-haired woman ordered. "As usual, people are amazed with your appetite."

Natsumi, in a very gangster like way, pounded her chest with her fist as she smugly smiled at her dinner companion. "I am the defending champion in the Bokuto Station cafeteria!" she boasted. The younger woman furrowed her eyebrows when Aki merely smirked back at her as a reply. "What?"

"I'm not sure if eating a lot can be considered a great trait," Aki drawled, biting back a cry of pain when Natsumi kicked her from beneath their table. "Hey! No kicking!" She nudged Natsumi's leg with her own as a warning as the waitress came back with their heated sake. After pouring both of them a serving of sake, Aki gazed at Natsumi until the latter fidgeted from the attention.

"What?" Natsumi asked, turning her face away as a sudden blush roved her cheeks. Once again, she was having those strange feelings of awkwardness and heat whenever she was with the raven-haired boulderer.

Aki ruefully shook her head. "It's nothing," she said, but thought better of her answer when Natsumi glared at her and gently kicked at her shins. "Do you really want to know?" Aki warmly smiled at the green-eyed woman before her.

"Of course I do!"

"I can't help but think that my life is going to go back to its usual boring routine when you head back to Japan," Aki admitted without missing a beat. "I haven't had this much fun since I got back from my brief stint in Japan." She downed her cup of sake then refilled it.

Despite the noticeable jerk of her heart, Natsumi still had enough poise in her to tease the older woman. "You could just be blunt and admit that you're going to miss me, you know," she teased, letting out a loud laugh when Aki turned red. "Obviously, you are going to miss me!" To add to Aki's embarrassment, she playfully batted her eyelashes at the raven-haired woman.

"And if I admit that I will miss you?" Aki asked, amber eyes locking with emerald ones.

"Huh?" Natsumi was suddenly taken aback by the seriousness in Aki's voice and eyes. "T-Then you'll miss me of course!" she rambled. She fidgeted in her seat and could feel the heat rising to her face. "Mou… Aki! It's not fair for you to say stuff like that!" The accusation seemed to go unheeded for a few seconds until a smile graced Aki's face.

"But it's the truth anyway," Aki pointed out, nodding her head in thanks to the waitress when she brought her order and the first few orders of Natsumi. "Now that I think about it, I was really happy while I was still in Japan. Aside from missing you of course, I miss the rest of the police officers from Bokuto Station, the people I worked with there, the food, the atmosphere," she paused and let out a long sigh.

"You could always go back, you know," Natsumi suggested. If Aki truly missed Japan that much, she could by all means return. Perhaps she could even make a living there instead of staying in America where bad memories and an overzealous media and fan-base plague her. "You have family there too and there's also us to consider."

Drumming her fingers against the surface of the table, Aki frowned deeply. "If only things were that simple for me." She consumed half of the contents of her platter before choosing to speak again. "Such an opportunity is definitely open to me, but there are certain things that are holding me back," the boulderer explained while Natsumi listened attentively. By then, the Japanese police officer was almost finished with her food.

"Like what?"

"Like contracts with my endorsers and my bouldering career," Aki replied, leaning back in her chair. She stretched out one leg on the floor, making sure that she didn't crowd Natsumi from her position. "I know that most of my endorsers have counterparts in Japan," she put in before Natsumi could speak. "But this modeling and acting business are merely a side job. I'm still dead serious about my bouldering career and there aren't that many opportunities to compete or even do some bouldering in Japan."

"And travelling back and forth is both expensive and tiring on your part," Natsumi added.

"Exactly." Aki nodded and pressed her fingers against her forehead. "I wouldn't be experiencing these types of problems if I decided to be an ordinary person."

This time it was Natsumi's turn to frown. "Then you wouldn't be the person you are today if you didn't become involved in bouldering and modeling." Reaching across the table, she gently laid a hand on the larger hand of Aki. "What matters is that you should be happy with what you're doing." She raised an elegant eyebrow at the other woman. "Well? Are you happy?"

"Half, I suppose," Aki replied.

"I'm assuming that the half that contributes to your happiness is the financial stability you have," Natsumi guessed. When Aki nodded her head, she continued her assumption by adding, "There's also the fame you've garnered from the bouldering circuit and your modeling and acting side jobs." She went on and mentioned the boulderer's family, friends and other possible reasons that influence her current happiness level. Aki seemed to agree with every word Natsumi said. "So why are you only half happy?"

Aki sadly smiled. "You would probably know the main reason for that."

There was silence between them. "Selene?"

"It's been really difficult for me to get over it," Aki admitted as she refilled their cups of sake. "To tell you the truth, I even gave in to my mom and went to a counseling session with a suggested psychologist." She shook her head at the botched experience. "It didn't work in any case." Laughing bitterly, she pressed her hand over her eyes. "I didn't feel any better and it didn't change my feelings about her death."

"You still blame yourself… don't you?"

"That belief will never change."

"Oh…" The short-haired brunette clenched her hands into fists on her lap as a sobering atmosphere fell upon them. "Is that the only reason why you're not happy?"

Aki shrugged her shoulders, her face replacing the somber expression with an indifferent one. "Should there be any other reason?"

Natsumi sighed and nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know…" she murmured. "Maybe the lack of a love life?" she guessed, suddenly leaning forward when Aki flinched. "Wait a minute! You reacted so that means that I hit the right note!" Grinning widely, Natsumi decided she was going to get to the bottom of Aki's love life. "Come on Aki! You only went as far as telling me that you had a boyfriend back in college, but you haven't said anything else!"

"Why are you so interested anyway?" Aki muttered.

"Because I want to know!" Natsumi knew that her reply wasn't a logical answer, but it was the best that she could come up with at that moment. "Come on Aki! Please?"

Hard amber eyes softened, showing that the boulderer was giving in to the request of her former escort. "What do you want to know?"

"Are you seeing anyone right now?" Natsumi excitedly asked.

The raven-haired woman shook her head then gulped down her cup of sake. "No, I'm not seeing anyone right now."

Natsumi pouted. "How will I know if you're really telling the truth?"

"You'll have to take my work for it," Aki calmly replied. The manner in which she gave her answer made Natsumi believe Aki's claim anyway. "What else do you want to ask?"

The police officer paused and took a few moments to think of a better question that would require Aki to do a little bit more explaining. "Okay. Are you eying anyone right now?" Thankfully, the question seemed to be the right one when Aki's elegant eyebrows furrowed. "You better be honest with me!" Natsumi ordered.

"Oh alright!" Aki let out in an exasperated voice. She sat there glowering at her friend.

Rolling her eyes, Natsumi demanded, "Well? Don't just stare at me like that! Give me details!" She returned the glare with the same intensity, patiently waiting for the other woman to start explaining.

"What else do you need to know aside from that?" Aki darkly said. Her discomfort in discussing the current topic was rather obvious.

"Who exactly are you eying?" Natsumi demanded.

"I am not going into detail," Aki retorted.

"Who then?!"

Scowling some more for a few more seconds, Aki merely said, "Someone I've met recently," she mumbled. "That's it that I'm going to say about it!"

Natsumi squealed in genuine happiness for her friend and bounced in her seat in her glee. "Is he interested in you too?" For a moment, she didn't know what to make of Aki when she merely blinked at her. "Aki?"

"I-I'm not sure…" Aki rattled.

"Well, in any case, I'm happy for you!" Natsumi squeezed Aki's hand with her own. "Last question then, what kind of person are you going for?" The silence that followed after she posed the question was probably the longest she had to go through compared to all the conversations she has had with the boulderer. A good three minutes had gone by and she was about to repeat her question when Aki gave her answer.

"I'm not really a picky person," Aki began, keeping her amber eyes focused on the cup of sake she held in her hands. "Some looks is necessary I suppose and I have to be able to relate to the person." She shrugged her shoulders. "It would be a plus if the person was also athletic like me too."

Natsumi nodded and tried to think of any guy she knew that she could introduce to Aki so that she could develop her love life. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for someone that fits your description," she promised. "In the meantime…" Natsumi grinned then yelled for the waitress. "Bring more sake!"

"Oh no…" Kieran groaned. "I am not going to tolerate taking care of a drunkard!"

"Who says you have a choice?" Natsumi cheerfully asked. "Besides, it's my last night in LA!"

Kieran sighed, but claimed a bottle of sake anyway. "I am not looking forward to this," she muttered, chinking their bottles of sake against each other before taking a generous sip of the alcoholic beverage.

* * *

"Nehhh… Aki-chan…"

"Don't make this any more difficult for me than it is," Aki grunted, renewing her hold on a very drunk Natsumi who was perched on her back. It was a little bit past one in the morning as Aki managed to get Natsumi back to the Sheraton Hotel. It no small ordeal for the boulderer since she had to carry the wasted police officer to her car and put up with her drunken rambling throughout the whole ride. With the hotel's outdoor lights piercing through the pitch-blackness, Aki carried her former escort on her back towards the main entrance.

"I want more sake!" Natsumi slurred, covering her mouth as she loudly hiccupped. Her emerald-green eyes were hazy from too much alcohol and practically her whole body was limp. "Aki-channn!" She pressed her too hot face against Aki's cheek and wrapped her arms around the raven-haired woman's neck. "Are you angry with me?"

Aki grunted, paying no mind to her drunken companion. Fortunately, Natsumi remained silent for the rest of the trek into the main lobby of the hotel. The brown-haired police woman opted to rest her face against Aki's shoulder and allow her to carry her back to her room. Though the lobby was almost deserted except for a couple of the hotel staff and a number of customers, many of them turned to look at the odd scene the two women created. Here they had a rather famous celebrity carrying an unknown woman on her back and they weren't sure what to make of it.

When one of the hotel staff decided to approach, Aki merely shook her head. "I'll take her back to her room," she simply said then boarded the nearest elevator. They were almost near the eight floor where Natsumi's room was located on when the said woman started to move. "Natsumi?" Aki struggled to keep her friend on her back, but eventually had to let go. Thankfully, the green-eyed police officer seemed steady enough on her feet. "Are you alright?" The boulderer took Natsumi's arm and laid it over her shoulders so that she could assist her out of the elevator and into the hall.

"Ughhh…" Using her free hand, Natsumi roughly ran her fingers through her mussed hair. "Sobering up," she murmured as she allowed her former ward to assist her down the hall. "Aki?" She said the raven-haired woman's name in a soft voice. "I-I'm sorry for my behavior." She continued to wait for Aki's reply in silence until they were both standing in front of the door of Natsumi's room. "Aki?" she called out again, this time in a more worried tone of voice. "Please don't be angry at me."

"I'm not," Aki finally spoke then let out a long sigh. "I just wish that you were a bit more responsible." Placing both her hands on the shorter woman's shoulders, she stooped down a little so that she could be at eye level with Natsumi. "Natsumi, I want you to take care of yourself," she firmly told her the smiled. "You're an important person to me."

Suddenly, Natsumi's heart jumped at what Aki just said. "H-Huh?"

"You're important to me," Aki repeated, her amber eyes never giving away her feelings. Stepping closer, she gathered Natsumi in her arms and hugged her. "The next time we see each other, I hope that I won't have to take care of you when you're drunk." She tightened her hold around the motionless woman then let go. "The first time around at the park was already enough of an experience for me." She reached up and playfully pinched Natsumi's nose.

"Aki-" Before she could say anything else, the boulderer leaned down once more and gently pecked her on her cheek.

"Good night, Natsumi." With that, the boulderer gave her one last smile then proceeded to walk back down the hallway towards the elevators. She had no idea what the innocent peck on the cheek was doing to Natsumi though.

Raising a hand up to her face, Natsumi first lightly touched the cheek Aki just kissed as a barrage of images and words ran through her head. Images of a dark park, wind-tossed black hair and concerned amber eyes were among the things going through her head.

_Then I'll wait here… I can wait until forever._

Those words struck a deep chord within her. That night… she still didn't know what had happened those last few moments before she passed out. All she could remember was that she was about to throw away the engagement ring Shouji had given her and Aki trying to calm her down. She frowned hard… how did Aki calm her down? She silently asked that question as her questing fingers travelled across her cheek then touched her lips… then it hit her. As if the alcohol was completely out of her system, Natsumi sprinted down the hallway, hoping and confused. She caught Aki just as she was about to board the elevator.

"Natsumi?!" Aki's amber eyes were wide in shock as Natsumi stopped the elevator doors from sliding shut. "What's wrong?" she asked as Natsumi lunged inside, grabbed Aki's arm and hauled her out of the elevator.

Grabbing hold of Aki's collar, Natsumi determinedly gazed into those confused amber orbs. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me for this!" Without waiting for Aki to give her permission, Natsumi pulled Aki down and pressed her lips against hers. They stayed motionless for a few moments until Natsumi rocked back on her heels and pulled away from the kiss. They stared at each other, both of them unsure of what they should do now. Natsumi finally grabbed hold of Aki's hand and dragged her to a nearby door that opened to the stairwell. Alone on one of the numerous landings of the stairwell, the police woman turned to face the boulderer. "You… kissed me," she whispered, her eyes averting towards the ground.

"Don't you mean you kissed me?" Aki asked in a slight joking voice. Despite her slight humorous tone of voice, the seriousness in her eyes was still there.

"That's not what I meant!" Natsumi shouted, slapping a hand over mouth as her shout echoed around them. "When you found me at the park that night," she began. "I was rambling wasn't I?" Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she struggled to find the courage to confront the older woman who calmly stood before her. "Before I fainted, you managed to stop me from making the situation worse." Bringing her fingers to her lips, she softly said, "You kissed me… didn't you?"

Aki silently gazed at the full-blooded Japanese woman. "Yes."

"Why?"

Aki sighed and chose that moment to lean against the door and run her long fingers through her hair. "As you said a while ago, you were making a ruckus and I had to do something to shut you up before people called the authorities." She stuffed her hands into her pockets, all the while locking gazed with the brown-haired woman before her. "You must understand that I was pressed at that time."

"But a kiss?" Natsumi demanded, heat blooming on her face as the memory of the two kisses she shared with Aki flooded her mind. "You could have just… just," she deeply frowned. "You could have just knocked me out or something!"

Aki shook her head. "That would have made things worse."

"Even if you say that you kissed me because you were forced to do it, I won't believe that it was the only reason!" For a good two minutes, they remained silent.

"Do you really want to know Natsumi?" Aki softly asked. Somehow, an intense sadness filled those amber eyes as she gave that question. She ruefully shook her head. "I don't suppose you remember that time when you and Miyuki accompanied me to the last press conference I had while I was still in Japan?"

"What about it?"

"You left partway through," Aki remarked. "I assume you went to the comfort room, but Miyuki was and heard everything." A sardonic smile graced her lips as she remembered that day. "I have no idea how the Japanese reporters figured it out, but I knew that it was best that I answer them truthfully instead of them spreading untrue gossip about me." She paused and saw that Natsumi was very confused. "I told you earlier that I wasn't picky when it came to love," she reminded her. "It's the truth. I'm not."

Natsumi shook her head, still unable to understand. "I don't understand."

"I swing both ways, Natsumi."

The policewoman blinked at Aki in shock. Aki… was gay? The better term for it of course was bisexual, but she was too in shock to bother about the right way to phrase things. "Oh… kami-sama," she let out, staggering back and leaning against the railing. "Miyuki never said."

"Up until now, I never knew why she kept quiet about the whole thing," Aki admitted. "If she did tell you, you probably would have made a big fuss about it." She pushed her hair off her face and glanced down the stairs if there was anyone coming up. "Now that I think about it, perhaps she knew all along that I was harboring feelings for you."

"But why? Why me?"

The boulderer shrugged. "What do you want me to say? You were attractive, athletic, funny," she enumerated. "Need I go on?"

"Those are a given," Natsumi pointed out. "Why me?"

"Because you were the first person to make me smile and genuinely make me feel happy since Selene's death," Aki replied. "That time when you saved me when reporters suddenly appeared at Auntie Mitsuko's café and when I found out that you and I shared a similar situation of losing someone you loved," she shook her head and looked away, knowing that the noticeable blush on her face could be seen by the other woman. "I couldn't help it, Natsumi." Amber and emerald eyes locked. "Nevertheless, I denied these feelings."

A lump formed in Natsumi's throat as she struggled to process the latest revelation given to her. Now, she wasn't at all sure if it was the alcohol that making her feel warm or if it was something else. She asked the first thing that came to her mind. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to scare you away, Natsumi," Aki admitted. "I kept telling myself back then that I valued your friendship too much for me to risk scaring you away if I did confess my attraction towards you." This time, there was a degree of love in those piercing amber orbs. "We were both lonely, but I just couldn't bring myself to make a move." She stepped closer to Natsumi and gently took her hands into her own. "There's also another thing," she said, lifting Natsumi's hands and brushed her fingers over the engagement ring around Natsumi's ring finger.

Emerald eyes widened in realization.

"I like you, Natsumi," Aki confessed in a soft voice. "Perhaps I like you enough for it to be considered as love." Keeping a hold on Natsumi's hand, she reached up and gently cupped the suddenly tearful face of her former escort. "But as long as you continue to wear his ring, I cannot allow myself to be with you." She gently swiped a lone tear that fell from Natsumi's bright emerald eyes with her fingers. "You haven't let go of him yet and you're not ready. If I do become your partner, I don't want it to happen because you're on the rebound."

"Aki-"

Pressing a finger against Natsumi's soft lips, the boulderer tenderly smiled down at her. "Please don't think that I'm forcing you to come to a decision." She let her hands drop to her sides. "You need time to decide I suppose." The sadness had returned to her eyes. "If you choose not to accept me, then I will respect your decision." Making one final decision, the raven-haired woman once again gathered the speechless Natsumi into her arms. "I… will miss you, Natsumi." With that, she released the younger woman and without another backward glance, made her way down the stairwell.

* * *

The afternoon sun was already setting when Natsumi and the rest of the Japanese contingent exited the Narita Airport. Their plane landed earlier than their estimated arrival time and since they were people of distinguished positions, they practically breezed through immigration.

"Do you need a ride home, Natsumi?" Kinoshita asked while the rest of the Japanese contingent bid each other goodbye and went their separate ways. She had waited for the younger police officer to return to their hotel room on their last night in LA. Besides noting the obvious that Natsumi smelled of alcohol, nothing else seemed out of place.

Natsumi shook her head. "I don't want to impose on you any further, Keibuho," Natsumi said. "I'll just take a taxi home," she decided, wondering why the higher-ranked woman suddenly smiled and gestured at something across the road. Turning, her emerald green eyes widened upon seeing who was waiting for her. Dressed simply in jeans, shirt and a jacket, Miyuki stood by her parked blue car. Looking a little bit befuddled, but nevertheless she was apparently waiting for her partner.

"I think you already have a ride," Kinoshita mused, patting Natsumi on her shoulder then leaving her to deal with her best friend and partner.

Swallowing hard, Natsumi gathered her things, looked at both sides of the road and crossed the street. She stopped a mere two feet away from the blue-haired mechanic and struggled to say something… say anything. "Miyuki, I-" she couldn't finish her sentence because her best friend threw herself forward and fiercely hugged her. Dropping her duffel bag, Natsumi wrapped her arms around her friend. "Miyuki… I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling the shorter woman tremble in her arms. "Will you forgive me?" She gently pulled away and wiped the tears off Miyuki's face with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Of course I forgive you!" That same beautiful smile, which Natsumi hasn't seen in so long, graced Miyuki's face. "You and I have a lot to catch up on!"

Natsumi grinned and bent down to pick up her duffel bag. "I suppose we do." She followed Miyuki to the back of her car and stowed her luggage in the trunk. Seated comfortably in the car while Miyuki started the engines, Natsumi called out. "Miyuki?"

"Nani?"

"I'm glad to be home."

Silence. "I'm glad that you're home."

* * *

_**Next chapter: Crossroads **_


	10. Crossroads

_Chapter 10: "Crossroads"_

Like any other day in the early summer, the Bokuto traffic department was bustling with work. It was just the first week of September, but most of the police officers in the said department were looking forward to a brief respite to enjoy the summer atmosphere. Aside from their impending summer vacation leaves, the officers also found joy in the fact that Miyuki and Natsumi were in good terms again. When Natsumi arrived back from America, they absolutely had no idea that the two best friends had reconciled. They only found out that things were back to normal between the both of them when they arrived at the station with Natsumi earnestly complaining that Miyuki didn't try hard enough to wake her up. It took a few minutes of blank faces and awkward silence until Yoriko finally had the sense to jump out of her seat and celebrate. For the rest of the day with the exception of their patrol time, Natsumi was frequently interviewed about her trip to America. Conversations about why she and Miyuki fought were carefully brushed aside, but she did gracefully explain how she and Miyuki had made up. In the background, the chief simply grinned at how his plan worked beautifully. He silently thought that making Natsumi attend the international convention would eventually lead to the reconciliation of his two top officers.

While everyone was generally happy with the situation, a number of officers in the department were significantly happier than the others. Nakajima for one was vastly happy that his beloved Miyuki was back to her normal self. While Natsumi was abroad for the convention, Miyuki had been really distant not just to him but to the rest of their co-workers. Yoriko was happy because she didn't have to take a turn at accompanying Miyuki on patrol anymore while Aoi was just genuinely happy that everyone was happy. Of course, Natsumi and Miyuki were also pleased not just because they had forgiven each other, but mostly because they could revel in each other's company again whether it was at work or not.

Natsumi was back to her usual cheerful and energetic self, but her closest friends noticed that something was amiss. Miyuki often caught her partner spacing out during their regular patrols. It was easy for the blue-haired mechanic to see that her friend was deeply thinking about something. It took her a couple of weeks to finally ask what was bothering Natsumi and she expected her friend to not give her a straight answer. Surprisingly, Natsumi had easily told her about what had transpired during her last day of her trip to Los Angeles.

"You knew didn't you?" Natsumi accused her partner as they sat in their parked patrol car. "You knew that Aki had feelings for me." She felt somewhat betrayed that her friend kept it to herself, but she knew that Miyuki was right to withhold the truth from her.

Miyuki sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was suspicious, but I only found out for sure a month or so after that press conference where Aki admitted that she was gay."

"What made you certain then?"

Miyuki smiled in spite of herself as she remembered how she became convinced of Aki's feelings for her partner. "It was the way she looked at you," she admitted. "I don't know how you could have missed it especially when the two of you were talking to each other. Even when she looked at you from afar, I could see it in her eyes." She dreamily gazed out of the window. "It never showed disinterest whenever she was looking at you. There was so much yearning."

Natsumi blushed as she herself remembered that same look Aki gave her when they last met. The involuntary shudder that raced down her spine and the rush of heat throughout her body was just intense. She didn't want to admit to Miyuki that for several nights since her return from America, she had frequent dreams of a certain raven-haired woman. It didn't help that not all of those dreams were… tame. It was also a good thing that Miyuki slept heavily each time Natsumi snuck into the bathroom to take a cold shower to relieve her heated flesh and nerves.

"Has she contacted you at all?" Miyuki asked, interrupting Natsumi recent thoughts.

Natsumi shook her head. "I suppose she's busy…" she slowly replied, suddenly feeling a wave of sadness go through her. "I don't know Miyuki… she confessed to me, but if she really had feelings for me, she would have at least called or sent an email, right?"

Miyuki reached over and patted her friend's shoulder. "I'm sure she's just tied up with work, Natsumi," she assured her partner. "And didn't she say that she won't be taking the next step until you move on?"

Natsumi felt her throat tighten at the reminder. Until now, she had kept Shouji's ring on her finger. It seemed wrong to just forget about him so that she could get into a relationship with Aki. "Miyuki… wouldn't I be breaking my promise to Shouji? I told him that I'd wait forever when he proposed to me."

"I don't think he'd want for you to remain unhappy for the rest of your life," Miyuki carefully told her friend. "It's never been easy to move on from a love lost." She grew quiet for a few moments before speaking again. "Natsumi, I don't want to see you unhappy and the only times I've seen you happy since Tokairin passed away was when Aki came along." She took both of Natsumi's hands into her own and seriously gazed into those emerald green orbs. "Moving on doesn't entail forgetting. I hope you realize that, Natsumi."

The brunette slowly nodded her head and squeezed her friend's hands with her own before letting go. "I know… I just miss him, Miyuki."

"I understand," Miyuki replied. "Even though she hasn't contacted you at all, I am pretty sure that Aki misses you as well." She cocked her head slightly to the side and softly smiled at her partner. "I know you miss her too."

Natsumi grunted and turned away, feeling her face heat up in embarrassment. "Of course I miss her!" She kept silent as dispatch radioed them to check out a disturbance near their current location. "We have the day off this Saturday, right?" she asked. The said day off was coming up in two days.

"Yes. Why are you asking?"

Natsumi cleared her throat as she came to a decision. "Would you mind if I leave you on your own on that day? I… got a lot of thinking to do."

"Coming to terms?" Miyuki asked.

"Well… yeah."

Miyuki smiled. "Take all the time you need then," she told her partner before starting her car and driving off.

* * *

_Three weeks later…_

* * *

Natsumi and Miyuki arrived at the Bokuto Police Station at the end of their afternoon shift. They merely had to do their reports then submit it before they could go home. As they entered the traffic department, Yoriko ran up to them and practically shoved an open magazine at their faces.

"What?" Natsumi demanded as she tried to push the periodical away from her face.

"Look at it Natsumi!" Yoriko ordered.

"I'm looking and I still don't see the point!"

"Read for crying out loud!" Yoriko retorted.

Natsumi growled, but decided to do as she was told. She wanted nothing more but to go home and rest up for the following day. As she once more eyed the periodical, she realized that it was a popular sports magazine. On that particular page, she saw the heading of "Asian X Games: Japan" and saw various pictures of half pipes for the skateboard, BMX and inline skate events, dirt ramps for the motocross events, and various climbing walls. She briskly skimmed through the article, which told her that the X Games were going to be held in Tokyo and what events were going to be included in the competition. Towards the end of the article, the author listed well-known competitors who were joining the games. Her jaw dropped when she saw the last name mentioned.

"She's coming here to compete, Natsumi!" Yoriko excitedly said, hopping around. "Aren't you glad?" Last week, Natsumi told Aoi, Yoriko, Saori and Nakajima the whole story. It took some explaining, but her friends were accepting.

Natsumi frowned and struggled with the complex feelings within her. Up to now, Aki still hadn't contacted her. She wasn't sure if the boulderer still felt the same way about her from their last meeting. She had assured Miyuki that she had come to terms with Shouji's death and was supposedly ready to move on, but things were easier said than done. She could not promise how her heart would react once she faces Logan "Aki" Walsh again. She cleared her throat and mastered herself. "I don't know if we'll even get to see her especially since we're on duty."

Nakajima approached them and offered a kind smile at the short-haired brunette. "Kachou said that a select number of us are to help with the traffic and crowd control in the competition's surrounding area." He nodded a greeting at Miyuki before continuing. "He put up the list already and you and Kobayakawa have been assigned."

"I'm sure you'll meet with her despite how busy she'll be competing," Aoi put in.

Natsumi looked down at her feet. "Why am I feeling so anxious?" she muttered angrily to herself. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and looked up to see that it was Miyuki.

The ace mechanic gave her longtime partner a comforting smile. "Who wouldn't be feeling anxious? I have a feeling Aki-san is also feeling the same."

"Why would she be anxious?" Natsumi asked.

"Because she's the one who confessed and if I'm right, she purposely joined the competition so that she could come to Japan and get an answer from you," Miyuki replied. "She's probably worrying whether you're going to accept her or not."

Natsumi sighed as she walked over to her desk and sat heavily onto her chair. "Am I an idiot for feeling that I'm not worth it? What if I'm still hung up on the past? It's going to hurt her."

"Aki-chan will accept you no matter your flaws," Miyuki told her friend. "Now let's finish up these reports so that we could go home!"

* * *

_The following week : Third day of the X-Games…_

* * *

It was a very busy day indeed especially with the large crowds that frequented the X-Games grounds. The various events happened simultaneously, which made things somewhat chaotic. Natsumi was glad that the Kachou had given her the day off on this day. While she was free to do whatever she wanted, the strongwoman of Bokuto decided to spend the day at the X-Games. She was dressed in civilian clothing composed of an open red short-sleeved button-down shirt, a white sleeveless shirt underneath, jean, combat boots, and a baseball hat. At the moment, she was wandering through the grounds often stopping at the bouldering walls, which weren't being used for the moment. From what she heard, the bouldering competition was slated to start in thirty minutes and would involve twenty competitors, ten men and ten women. Basically, competitors were awarded points depending on how far up they scaled a certain course. A perfect score would be awarded if one reached the top. Natsumi couldn't help but stare at the complexity of the courses. There were few handholds and all of the courses had overhangs. She could only imagine what kind of positions the boulderers had to contort their bodies into just to get through the course. Shaking her head, she wandered away and decided to come back once the competition was going to start.

Miyuki, who was in uniform and on duty, bumped into her partner at the half pipe currently being used by the inline skaters. "Did you see her yet?" she asked Natsumi who was gulping down a can of orange soda.

The brunette shook her head. "She's probably with the rest of the competitors in a private area," Natsumi replied, crushing the can and tossing it into a nearby trashcan. "The bouldering competition should be starting soon in any case." She consciously clenched and unclenched her hands.

"Nervous?" Miyuki guessed, giving her friend a sympathetic look.

"Yeah… I don't know what to say to her."

"It'll come to you when the two of you are together," Miyuki assured the older woman. She placed both her hands on Natsumi's shoulders, turned her around and pushed her in the direction of the bouldering walls. "Go on and wait for her. Obviously, you're going to spot her first, but I have a feeling she'll catch sight of you quickly too."

"Because she'll have a good view up high on the walls?" Natsumi guessed.

Miyuki grinned. "Yes and the fact that it's _you_ after all. She might be expecting you."

"She might not even know that I'm here," Natsumi muttered.

"I doubt she hasn't noticed that there are representatives from Bokuto Police Station here," Miyuki reminded her friend, who was shaking her head as she walked off.

By the time Natsumi got back to the bouldering area, the announcer was introducing the competitors. Apparently both the men and women were going to compete at the same time. There were a total of five walls of increasing difficulty each for both the men and women. Natsumi blended in with the crowd of spectators and watched as the female competitors came out of a large white tent and lined up on the edge of the thick crash pads that lined the floor along the bouldering walls. Her breath caught in her throat when she finally saw Aki stride out of the tent, garbed in a sleeveless sports shirt, knee length shorts and blue and silver climbing shoes. As expected, the audience cheered and screamed when they saw the famous model and boulderer.

"All right! We'll begin with the first round for both the men's and women's competition," the announcer said. "First up for the women is Logan Walsh!"

Natsumi drew herself up to her tiptoes as she watched her former charge grab a chalk bag and strap it to the back of her shorts. The police officer could easily see that Aki meant business as the half-Japanese woman walked over to the base of the wall and rubbed chalk into her hands and heavily taped fingers. Despite the noise from the crowd, Aki remained serious as she raised her hand to signal that she was going to start the course. Natsumi held her breath as Aki had to first leap up to grab a large handhold with both hands. The crowd oohed as they watched the muscles in Aki's well-defined arms flex as she pulled herself up and swung her right leg up to hook her foot into another hold. People gasped in awe as Aki freed one hand from her first hold and literally surged upwards and jammed her fingers into a small protruding hold. It took another minute or so for the foreigner to grab the topmost hold, which meant that the competitor completed the course. The crowd cheered for Aki as she hung onto the large rock for a couple of seconds before letting go and falling to the crash pad below her. Before she walked to the rest area, she turned around and waved at the audience.

"She's incredible, huh?" Yoriko spoke up suddenly behind Natsumi, causing the off-duty police officer to jump up in surprise.

"Yoriko! Don't do that!" Natsumi scolded her friend.

The bespectacled officer grinned. "The sports analysts say that she has the highest chance of winning the gold medal. Wouldn't it be romantic if she dedicated a win to you?" She swooned and got giddy, which made other people standing nearby give her strange looks.

Natsumi growled and shoved Yoriko away. "Get back to work!" Thankfully, Yoriko did leave and left Natsumi hidden in the crowd as the rest of the competitors took their turns. Natsumi watched with interest as the commentators explained that those competitors who did not attain the cutoff score for the first wall would be eliminated, while those who passed would move up to the next round. After all the competitors from the women's competition finished the first wall, only six remained. Rather than leave and come back for the final round, Natsumi adamantly stayed and watched Aki scale every wall set before her. Nearly an hour later, it was down to Aki and a German boulderer on the fifth and final wall. It was obvious that this was the most difficult wall to scale being over twenty feet high, with a horizontal overhang and the fewest handholds that were all spaced quite far apart. Natsumi worried about Aki who looked somewhat fatigued, but was concentrating on calculating the best route up the wall.

"For our final round, our first competitor to scale this last wall will be Lena Schmidt from Germany!" the announcer excitedly informed the spectators. Like Aki, the German woman was well built and looked slightly fatigued from the strenuous climbing. Physically, she was two inches taller than Aki and was more muscled, but spectators witnessed that both women were of equal caliber when it came to scaling the walls. It was only the two of them who completed the previous walls while the other knocked out competitors had incomplete climbs.

Natsumi resisted the temptation to move forward to the metal fence that kept the spectators out of the competition area. She had a good enough view where she currently stood and she wasn't exactly willing yet to let Aki see her. From what she gathered, this wall was going to be very tough as she watched Lena Schmidt walk to the base of the wall, which slanted outward at a rather steep angle.

With a deep breath, the German competitor jumped up and grabbed hold of two adjacent handholds spaced more than a foot and a half apart, dangling in the air as she struggled to fix her grip. From there, the next hold was higher and towards the right. It looked impossible to reach, but Lena raised her left foot and released her grip on the left handhold. Grabbing her foot, she raised it until she settled it on the vacated hold then let both her hands renew their grip on the right handhold. Taking some time to collect herself, she then pushed with her left leg and reached out with her right hand and managed to grip the next hold higher up, much to the applause of the audience. She managed to climb up another few feet with less difficulty despite the difficult slant of the wall, but had to pause a moment at the horizontal overhang. There was one handhold underneath and the next one was past the overhang. Obviously, both Lena and Aki would have to hang in the air and try to swing out and reach the next hold above. Lena alternated her hands on the hold underneath the overhang and maintained her feet on the artificial rocks beneath her as she reached behind her back and stuck each hand into her chalk bag. By this time, the German woman was breathing heavily, but after chalking up her hands, she gripped the hanging handhold and let her legs dangle beneath her, drawing gasps from the audience. Arm muscles strained as she tried to maintain her grip. Lena was sucking in huge gasps of air as she swung her body outward and attempted to grab hold of the hold above the edge of the overhang. She missed on her first two tries, but on the third try, she managed to jam her fingers into the small space of the rock. Still hanging in midair with one hand underneath the overhang and the other above it, she released the former and tried to swing out and grab the single handhold above with both hands. Unfortunately, she was already too fatigued and the momentum of swinging out made her lose her grip altogether. The spectators gasped and moaned out in disappointment as the German woman fell to the crash pad.

"Lena Schmidt with a score of seven out of ten points!" the commentator announced as the audience applauded and cheered for the valiant effort of the German woman. "Next up is Logan Walsh!"

As the crowd cheered loudly and surged forward to watch the potentially last climb for the competition, Natsumi couldn't resist any longer and decided to move forward as well. She found a spot at the front, jammed between two other people. She knew that if Aki was to turn around at that moment, she would easily spot her. She watched as Aki shook out both her arms and chalked up her hands once more before starting the course.

Like the previous competitor, Aki tackled the first half of the course in a similar fashion and even stopped at the handhold beneath the overhang to apply another layer of chalk on her hands. To those who were near enough, they could see the half-Japanese woman sweating and breathing heavily as she prepared to take on the part of the course that felled the German woman before her. With one huge breath, Aki released her legs and let them dangle in midair as she clung onto the inverted hold with all her strength. Her arms were now visibly trembling from the effort, but instead of collecting herself like Lena, she swung out right away and managed to grab the hold above the overhang. Natsumi knew that Aki did this so that she could conserve her strength because hanging in midair would have tired her out faster. With two points of contact, one hand in the previous handhold and the other above, the boulderer turned model released the former, swung outward and grabbed onto the artificial rock above her with both hands, drawing cheers and applause from the people below. Suddenly, the spectators gasped as Aki's left hand lost her grip and her body flailed almost violently in midair. The look on Aki's face was tight from the effort of staying on the wall, but it slowly changed to a look of defeat… she was going to give up.

Anger welled in the chest of Natsumi as she watched Aki who looked like she was going to let go of the handhold and fall the crash pad below her. It irked her that Aki was going to give up when the both of them were fierce competitors and never wanted to concede defeat. Drawing in a deep breath, she leaned over the waist high fence and shouted as loudly as she could. "BAKA! DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP!"

Startled, Aki twisted her head and searched the audience below, spotting a familiar non-uniformed police officer waving a threatening fist up at her. In her shock, she momentarily forgot that she was hanging precariously in the air nearly fifteen feet up with only her right hand keeping her on the wall.

Despite the strange looks and cringes she was getting from the people around her, Natsumi angrily stared up at the raven-haired woman dangling above her. "DON'T YOU EVER GIVE UP!" she angrily shouted. "STOP STARING AND WIN!"

Twisting back around so that she was facing the wall once more, Aki allowed herself one small smile before taking a couple of deep breaths to compose herself. With a loud grunt of effort, she reached up with her left hand and this time managed to grip the handhold with both her hands. Adrenaline rushed through her body as she lifted herself up using her arms with her legs still dangling beneath her. Her right hand quickly shot upward to the next hold and she heard the crowd cheer her on as she finally got a foot secured on the hold beneath her. Technically, even if she didn't finish the course, she would be declared the winner and awarded the gold medal. Still, she was pumped up and was surely going to climb to the top. Looking up, she was a mere five feet away from the top of the wall and she could see the cameraman pointing his camera over the edge to get footage. Determinedly, Aki ignored the burning sensation in her arms and legs and quickly scaled the remaining part of the wall. When she got to the brightly colored last hold, she grabbed hold of it with both hands and allowed herself to dangle from it without any of her feet in contact with the wall. Twisting her body in midair, she released her left hand, formed it into a fist and pumped it into the air. At the same time, she let out a roar of triumph then climbed over the edge and stood at the top of the wall.

"Our winner is Logan Walsh!" the commentator announced happily, watching as the audience raised their arms in the air as Aki stood atop the wall and waved. Soon afterwards, Aki used the stairs attached to the last wall to get back on solid ground and was immediately whisked off to the awarding ceremony.

"In third place, the bronze medal is awarded to Ava Wilson from Australia with a cumulative score of forty-two out of fifty points!" A young woman bearing a bouquet of flowers came forward while an older man in a suit hung the medal around the Australian woman's neck. "In second place, the silver medal is awarded to Lena Schmidt from Germany with a cumulative score of forty-seven out of fifty points!" The silver medal and another bouquet of flowers were given to the German woman while the crowd became more intense with their applause and cheers for what was next. "Finally, our gold medalist with a historic perfect score of fifty out of fifty points…" the commentator paused to add to the drama. "From Los Angeles, California, Logan 'Aki' Walsh!"

Aki tiredly smiled as she accepted the bouquet of flowers and leaned her head forward so that the medal could be put around her neck with ease. She kept smiling and shook hands with her fellow medalists as they were subjected to short interviews and a photo shoot. By the time everything was done, Aki was just about ready to pass out. She made her way to the communal tent shared by the competitors and stowed the flowers and her medal into her duffel bag. More than anything, she wanted a moment of peace and she couldn't get that inside the tent since it was filled with people. Grabbing a couple of bottles of Gatorade, she trudged out of the tent and found a bench several yards away with no people loitering in that area. Aki sighed as she eased herself onto the bench. She was very weary and her arms and legs were burning and throbbing from physical strain. Breathing heavily, Aki took one of the bottles of Gatorade and attempted to twist the cap off. Unfortunately, even her hands and fingers were weak and she couldn't even make the cap budge. "Damn it," Aki muttered and was just about to put the bottle aside when a hand grabbed it from her and easily twisted the cap off. The tired raven-haired woman looked up, amber eyes widening upon realizing that it was Natsumi standing before her.

"Here… drink up. You look really thirsty," Natsumi nervously said, offering the opened bottle back at Aki.

Aki gripped the bottle properly, ensuring that she wouldn't let go of it. "Thanks," she sincerely told the younger woman. She tilted her head back and downed the contents of the bottle in one go and when she finished, she realized that Natsumi had gone ahead and twisted the cap off of the other bottle. This time Aki only drank half then put it aside. Running her hands through her hair first, she then looked up and lost herself in those emerald green orbs.

"Congratulations."

Aki felt her cheeks heat up and felt embarrassed. "I wouldn't have made it if you hadn't shouted at me," she dryly said. "In fact, it couldn't have worked the other way with me falling because your shouting was distracting."

"It didn't distract you!" Natsumi argued. "You finished because I yelled at you to not give up!"

"And I'm thankful that you did," Aki pointed out before Natsumi could argue with her any further. "It…" she cleared her throat. "…_you _spurred me on when you yelled at me." She looked away, hoping that Natsumi wouldn't see how embarrassed she was. "I would have given up if I didn't hear your voice."

"Oh…" Natsumi felt her heart leap in her chest. "Aki…" she began, stepping forward. "How… how long will you be here?"

"For a week," Aki softly replied, still avoiding Natsumi's gaze. "I promised Auntie Mitsuko that I'd stay for while with her." Both of them remained silent for couple of minutes. "Are you… free tonight?" Aki asked suddenly.

"W-What?" Natsumi looked taken aback by the suddenness of the question. "W-Well… yes…"

"Would you like to… hang out?"

Natsumi nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. "O-Of course…" she stuttered. Once more their eyes locked with each other, emerald and amber. "I…" her breath hitched in her throat. "…would love to spend time with you."

Aki smiled and got to her feet. "Good. Sorry, but I have to freshen up and there are few things I still have to do before I'm free. Do you remember that Japanese restaurant on the hill?"

Natsumi nodded. "It's where you took the traffic department for dinner," she promptly answered.

"Let's meet there at say eight tonight?"

"Alright."

Still feeling like she was going to collapse, Aki stepped closer to Natsumi and with a moment of hesitation, she wrapped her arms around the shorter woman and hugged her. Whispering into her ear, she said, "I'm glad you came to watch me." Having said that, she released the police officer and strode away.

Natsumi stood there, feeling warmth coursing through her veins at what just happened. It was just a simple hug after all, but it was doing crazy things to her. After she felt that she had full control of herself, she then made her way to the security booth occupied by her colleagues from the traffic department. Since it was nearing the end of the day, most of her fellow officers were present including Miyuki, Noriko and Aoi. Nakajima was patrolling the perimeter of the competition grounds so he wasn't present.

Miyuki brightly smiled at her partner as she approached the tent. "I heard Aki won," she remarked.

Natsumi nodded. "She did."

"We also heard that there was a madwoman shouting threats at Aki while she was trying to climb up the last wall," Yoriko mischievously added, garnering herself a warning look from Aoi.

"Hmmmm…" Natsumi merely answered, obviously distracted.

"Natsumi?" Miyuki called out to her friend. "Are you alright?"

"Ah… yeah Miyuki. I'm fine," Natsumi assured her partner with a smile. "Hey, if it's alright, I'm going to go ahead."

Miyuki furrowed her eyebrows at her friend but decided against pressing her for answers. She had a feeling already that she and Aki had already seen each other. "Sure Natsumi. It wouldn't be a problem. Just don't stay out too late."

Natsumi nodded her head and with a wave of her hand to the other officers, she walked off towards the exit.

* * *

_Later than night…_

* * *

Natsumi nervously paced outside the Japanese restaurant. She had gone home to the apartment she and Miyuki shared to take a shower and change into clothes that would be more suited for dinner with Aki. Now, she was wearing tight black pants, a dark blue v-neck long-sleeved shirt that exposed just enough of cleavage and open-toed flats. Instead of taking her motorcycle, she opted to take a taxi instead since she had a feeling she was going to consume some alcohol throughout dinner. The police officer glanced at her watch and saw that it was nearly eight in the evening. Aki was probably already inside waiting for her and she didn't want to keep the half-Japanese woman waiting. Steeling her frayed nerves, Natsumi entered the restaurant and asked the hostess if Aki Walsh was seated already.

"Ah yes! She's been here since an hour ago," the hostess informed Natsumi and motioned for her to follow her further into the restaurant. She stopped at a closed door then opened it. "Walsh-san, your dinner companion is here," she announced, ushering Natsumi inside.

Natsumi's eyes automatically locked with those piercing amber orbs and for a moment, she was frozen in place. The hostess had to help her take a seat before she left the two women alone in the private room. Natsumi continued to gaze at the raven-haired woman before her. Aki looked rested and was dressed in tight faded jeans, a three-fourths sleeved white polo shirt, a midnight blue vest over it and comfortable leather shoes. To complete the outfit, Aki was wearing glasses instead of her usual contact lenses.

Aki was the first to speak. "I know that it's good manners to wait for your dinner companion before ordering, but I took the liberty of ordering the best food from here as well as a jar of heated sake." She worriedly looked at Natsumi who was still staring at her. "Is it alright?"

Natsumi shook herself out of her trance. "Yes, it's quite alright!" she answered, just as two waiters came in with several dishes, which they laid out on their table. Another waiter came in with a smaller table and he placed the warmed jar of sake atop it before leaving the room with his fellow co-workers.

"Please," Aki gestured at the food. She and Natsumi ate their way through the appetizers, sushi and were in the process of eating Wagyu steak when they spoke again. "Is it good?" Aki asked Natsumi, who was wolfing down the steak.

The brunette quickly chewed her food and swallowed before answering the question aimed at her. "It's wonderful!" she exclaimed with a smile. She then eyed the jar of sake, which Aki took from the table and proceeded to pour for the both of them. "I haven't had this since I left," she remarked, drinking the sake down. "It's still as good as I remembered." She sighed as the familiar warmth coursed down her throat and down her chest.

Natsumi smiled and downed her cup of sake as well before reasserting herself with her steak. By the time the food was gone, both she and Aki were quite mellow from the amount of sake they ingested. "What have you been doing since I went back home from LA?" she asked Aki.

"Not much bouldering," Aki replied, swirling the sake in her cup before gulping it down. "This was my first major bouldering competition since we last saw each other. I was actually thinking about dropping out of the competition because I haven't been able to train much with all the modeling jobs I had at the time. Fortunately, my bosses gave me free time when I told them that I intended to compete in the X-Games." She shrugged her shoulders and refilled their cups. "They understood at least that I wouldn't be able to be of some competition if I didn't train."

"It was one hell of a bouldering competition," Natsumi pointed out. "It was really intense."

Aki nodded her head in agreement then placed her empty cup on the table. "And you? What have you been up to since you got back?" she asked. "Did you and Miyuki make up?"

Natsumi nodded her head. "She was the one who picked me up at the airport and well, she forgave me easily," she said sheepishly. The brunette looked down at her hands on her lap. "You were right…"

"Right about what?" Aki asked.

The officer looked up into Aki's amber eyes. "That Miyuki knew that you had feelings for me."

Aki released a long sigh, got to her feet and opened the door. She called for the bill before sitting down once more. "I always thought that your partner has good intuition. She caught me looking at you several times but she never once said anything about it." The boulderer shook her head as the waiter came inside and presented her the bill, which she paid for in cash. "Please keep the change," she told him as she got back onto her feet. "Walk with me?" she asked her companion.

Natsumi got to her feet and followed Aki out of the restaurant. She stayed a few steps back as they made their way to the top of the hill and towards a familiar bench that brought back memories. She sat on the bench as Aki walked over to the railing and gazed at the lit-up skyline.

"Do you know what I was feeling when the two of us were last here?" Aki suddenly asked, keeping her gaze on the skyline instead of Natsumi. Not waiting for an answer, she said, "That I really didn't want to leave even though I was saying the opposite and other crap."

Natsumi felt a lump form in her throat. "Why didn't you want to leave then?" She got to her feet and joined Aki by the railing. She looked up at the taller woman who at that moment chose to face her.

"Do you even have to ask?" Aki slowly asked, her amber eyes seemingly glowing in the night.

Natsumi blushed and looked down at her feet. She realized that she and Aki were standing so close to each other. "…me?" she finally asked in a soft voice.

"Yes…" Aki replied in an equally soft voice. She then let out a chuckle. "I was in a dilemma at that moment," she informed Natsumi. "Instead of telling you that I was going to go back to California, I wanted to confess my feelings for you then and there. My head won over my heart though." She slowly reached out and took Natsumi's hand into her own. "I told you before that I didn't want to scare you off…" she paused and tightened her grip on Natsumi's hand. "I'm _still _hoping that I won't scare you off with what I'm going to say."

Emerald green orbs shimmered. "Aki…"

"I want to be with you," Aki blurted out, her face turning crimson. "I want you to stay by my side forever. I never want to be apart from you!" With her other hand, she reached up and cupped Natsumi's heated cheek. "Nothing will make me any happier and I want to make you happy as well." She let out a long breath and finally took that moment to look at both of Natsumi's hands. Her eyes widened in surprise. "It's not there."

Natsumi nodded and showed Aki her fingers, which were devoid of any jewelry. "It… took a while to come to terms," she told the taller woman. "I honestly didn't know whether I could find it in myself to love again after Shouji died." Her chin trembled as she felt like she was about to cry, but she held it in. "About three weeks ago, I had the day off and did some soul searching I suppose." Natsumi reached down once more and gripped Aki's hands. It comforted her as she gave her explanation. "I realized that I would be a depressed old maid if I kept thinking that I would never learn to love again. In the end, I told myself that I'm blessed that Shouji taught me how to love and that I shouldn't let the fire die just because he's gone."

"Natsumi-"

The officer placed two fingers against Aki's lips, which silenced her. "What I'm really trying to say is that…" she paused and felt her eyes becoming teary and blurry. "I want to be with you too, Aki," she passionately confessed to the older woman. "It doesn't matter that we're both women and I don't give a damn what other people will say. I've never felt so at ease and happy with anyone else." The tears finally overflowed from her emerald green eyes. Natsumi flung herself into Aki's chest and cried. "Please... stay with me. Don't leave me alone," she whispered, rubbing her face into the front of Aki's chest.

A heavy weight lifted off Aki's chest upon hearing Natsumi's admission. On instinct, she wrapped her arms around Natsumi and fiercely hugged her. "I'm… glad that you feel the same way," she whispered into Natsumi's hair. She pulled back slightly and cupped Natsumi's face with her hands. Using the pads of her thumbs, she gently wiped the tears and away and smiled ever so lovingly at the police officer. She brought her face closer to Natsumi's until it was inches away. "Natsumi… I love you. I want you to know that I've loved you for a while now." Her amber eyes smoldered with passion. "I will never deny my feelings for you ever again."

Natsumi nodded her head and wrapped her arms around Aki's neck, pulling her closer. "I love you too, Aki." With that, she took the initiative and pulled Aki down the remaining distance until their lips touched. Heat seared through her body, a kind of heat that was different from the one induced by the sake she just drank. For the first time in over a year, she felt content and loved. They broke the kiss soon afterwards and gazed lovingly at each other, slightly out of breath.

"I should bring you home," Aki said, caressing Natsumi's cheek. "You have work tomorrow, am I right?"

Natsumi cursed and nodded her head. She did have work the following day at the X-Games grounds since the other competitions were still ongoing. "I do…" she admitted, suddenly coming to a decision. "But I could always call in sick for tomorrow."

Aki raised an eyebrow at her former security escort. "You're not even hung over, Natsumi," she reminded the younger woman.

Natsumi stepped closer to Aki once more, leaning up on her tiptoes so that she could whisper in the taller woman's ear. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dead tired tomorrow," she told her lover in a very seductive voice, feeling Aki flinch. "Do you need me to be more specific?" she asked Aki after she pulled away. "I want you…" she needfully said. "Come home with me… okay?" For a moment, she was afraid that Aki would refuse.

"Alright…" Aki finally agreed. "But what about Miyuki?"

Natsumi shrugged and took hold of Aki's hand, leading her back down the hill towards the intersection where they would most likely flag down a taxi. "If she's home, she'll probably be asleep already. She's been working at the X-Games grounds since early this morning."

Aki nervously laughed. "Well, I hope you're right then. I wouldn't want to… disturb her."

Natsumi grinned and eagerly flagged down the first taxi she saw. She told him her address then settled down in the back seat, holding onto Aki's hand the whole ride.

The lights were off when they finally walked into the abode shared by Natsumi and Miyuki. All was quiet so they could only guess that Miyuki was indeed asleep or still out. They had just taken off their shoes when Natsumi couldn't hold herself back any longer. The brunette pounced on Aki and pulled her down for a rough and needy kiss. Aki's hands roved across Natsumi's body, swallowing her lusty moans and whimpers through their kiss. The raven-haired woman's mind was muddled, but she was sure of one thing: she was going to make sure that Natsumi knew and felt the depth of her love. They noisily stumbled down the hall and into Natsumi's room and fell onto the bed where clothes were quickly discarded. The meeting of heated flesh heightened the building lust and passion. Neither woman got much sleep that night.

* * *

_The next morning…_

* * *

Natsumi was slow to wake up, but she was quick to notice that she wasn't sharing her bed anymore. Sitting up, she held the sheets against her bared chest and groggily looked around her room. Where had Aki gone? She swung her legs off the bed and wrapped the sheet around her body. Padding across her room, she opened her door and peeked outside. From her place, she heard voices talking in the kitchen. Unable to control her curiosity, the somewhat tired police officer left the confines of her room and walked down the hall though she stumbled a few times because her feet would get caught in the sheets. Once she got to the kitchen, she couldn't help but blush. Aki was sitting at the dining table clad only in her wrinkled polo shirt from the night before. Beneath the table, her long bare legs were crossed, but she didn't seem to be embarrassed despite the fact that Miyuki was behind the kitchen counter brewing coffee and making breakfast.

Aki looked up and smiled at the scantily clad Natsumi. "Morning," she greeted her lover with a wink.

"M-Morning," Natsumi stuttered back her reply, keeping her hands on the sheets around her body to prevent herself from flashing her apartment mate and girlfriend. Still blushing, she glanced at her blue-haired partner who was giving her a knowing smile. "Ermmm… were you home last night, Miyuki?"

The mechanic checked the coffee maker and poured a mug for Aki before choosing to answer the question. "Yes, I was home last night," she replied. "And yes, I _heard _everything," she added before Natsumi could ask. She laughed as Natsumi turned into a deeper shade of crimson. "Don't worry, I still managed to get some sleep although I had to put headphones over my ears."

"Sorry Miyuki," Aki apologized as she gratefully took a sip of her freshly brewed coffee. "I told Natsumi that I didn't want to intrude since we might disturb you, but she was insistent that I come home with her."

Miyuki shrugged her shoulders and went back to making their breakfast as well her packed lunch for the day. "I had a feeling that you and Natsumi were going to meet up last night even though she didn't say anything to me yesterday. If things went well between you, I guessed that the two of you would have taken it to your hotel and not to our apartment."

"Awww Miyuki!" Natsumi whined. "Our apartment was closer compared to Aki's hotel!"

"Anyway, I'm glad that the two of you are together," Miyuki breathed out. "Now why don't you get changed into something decent and find some clothes to lend Aki?"

Natsumi frowned. "But she looks sexy in that!" she protested.

"Natsumi!" Miyuki warned.

"The after-sex look really suits her!"

"Go to your room!" Miyuki barked, sending her partner scurrying back into her bedroom. Shaking her head, she muttered, "That woman… she's so impulsive sometimes."

Aki chuckled. "It's charming in any case. I like it that she speaks her mind."

Miyuki had to agree that it was a good trait in certain situations. "I'll have your breakfast ready soon, Aki," she promised her former charge. She was serving Aki a steaming bowl of rice, miso soup, broiled fish and egg when Natsumi joined them. Her partner was decent in exercise shorts and a tank top. In her arms, she carried a t-shirt and loose jogging pants.

"Here are some clothes, Aki," Natsumi handed the articles of clothing to Aki. "Hopefully, the pants will fit although I think they'll be a little short since you're taller than I am." She gestured at the bathroom down the hall. "You could freshen up after breakfast."

Aki smiled. "Thank you, Natsumi." She motioned for her lover to sit with her at the table. "Before you eat, didn't you say you were going to call in sick today?"

"Oh shit!" Natsumi cursed and ran over to the cordless phone. She quickly dialed the Kachou's direct line and waited for her commanding officer to pick up. "Kachou? Tsujimoto here. I just wanted to call in and inform you that I'll be unable to go to work today. I'm running a high fever, but I'm sure I'll be able to get back to work tomorrow." She listened for a couple of seconds then nodded her head. "Thank you, Kachou!" She then hung up and returned to the table to join Miyuki and Aki in eating breakfast.

"That went surprisingly well," Miyuki remarked. "I would have thought that the Kachou would have asked more questions."

"I'm just lucky today," Natsumi cheerfully chirped then applied herself with gusto at her breakfast. She was going through her second bowl of rice when she noticed Miyuki eyeing her. "What?" she demanded. "Why are you staring at me?"

Miyuki sighed as she took her empty dishes and brought it to their kitchen sink. "If you plan to go out later today, make sure you cover up properly." She gestured at the numerous red marks that covered Natsumi's neck and chest. "It looks like you truly had a wild night just seeing those hickeys on you."

Natsumi dropped her chopsticks and vainly tried to cover her marked flesh with her hands. "Ehhhh! It's not my fault Miyuki! It was Aki who did it!"

"It doesn't matter if it's Aki's fault! Just make sure you cover yourself up if you do decide to go out!" Miyuki scolded her partner. "In any case, I have to go and report for work."

"Have a good day, Miyuki," Aki told the blue-haired mechanic. "We should meet up with the other officers from the traffic department."

"I'll be sure to mention that to them when we see each other later." Grabbing her packed lunch, Miyuki bid the two women goodbye then headed out of the apartment.

While Natsumi wolfed down her remaining breakfast, Aki leisurely sat back and finished her coffee. For a moment, she thought that she had taken Natsumi to bed too fast, but then again Natsumi wanted it as well. She had to remind herself that the tension between them since they last saw each other in LA had been so great that she already expected that one of them was going to jump the gun the next time they would meet. Aki was right all along, neither she nor Natsumi could hold back and they had their way with each other the previous night. Aki softly smiled to herself when she realized last night how much of a wildcat Natsumi was in bed. It had been almost as intense as her bouldering competition. Looking at Natsumi who was just about finished eating, she said, "I should change."

Natsumi looked up and pouted at her lover. "Can't you let me enjoy that look of yours a bit longer?" she complained. Her emerald green eyes roved up and down Aki's body.

"Well since you've got the day off, I suppose you could look all you want in the meantime," Aki replied, stretching her lithe body. "I have to leave in a couple of hours though. Auntie Mitsuko is expecting me for lunch."

Natsumi grinned as she got to her feet and coyly wrapped her arms around Aki's neck. "A couple of hours is good enough for a second round," she remarked in a seductive voice.

Aki grinned but allowed Natsumi to drag her back into the bedroom. "You're insatiable," she accused her lover who pushed her back onto the bed and straddled her waist. "We went at it for maybe five times and you still want more?" She continued laughing as her lover furiously unbuttoned her shirt and threw it onto the floor.

Once Aki lay naked beneath her, Natsumi leaned forward and nuzzled the crook of Aki's neck. "I want to relive that _feeling _as many times as possible," she growled, nipping the sensitive skin that connected Aki's neck and shoulder.

"And what feeling is that?"

Natsumi smiled into Aki's neck then let her hands wander down the front of her lover's chest, eliciting a deep intake of breath from her. "I'll just show you, Aki," she sultrily replied.

* * *

_**It took forever to update, but at least it's finally here. I no longer want to keep any of my other fanfiction stories hanging for much longer so I've been trying my best to write despite how busy I am with work.**_

_**In any case, this particular story will continue for another two chapters and possibly an epilogue. As I said, I'd really like to complete the other stories I've left hanging here on fanfiction. **_


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